


Hollywood Love Story (discontinued)

by CherryJolicoeur



Series: The Breakin' Breakiverse AU [3]
Category: Arthur (Cartoon), Jem and the Holograms (Comics), Original Work, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Punk, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Bad Parent David Read, Bad Parent Jane Read, Character Study, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, D.W. Read Appreciation, D.W. needs a hug, Dark, Emotional Baggage, F/F, F/M, Fame, Gen, Glam Rock, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Lesbian D.W. Read, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Punk Rock, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Triggers, Trust Issues, i will gladly die for D.W., i'm not really active there though, jane and david are the shittiest of parents, making that a tag for future reference, read family bashing, so are julian and mia, steg and opal are very very good parents, title may change, updates may be slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-02-19 02:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22903582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryJolicoeur/pseuds/CherryJolicoeur
Summary: 🌟𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓾𝓹𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓷.🌟=d.w. is a girl with a painful past, and even after seeking solace with her adoptive parents the healing process is still slow. mr multiverse is a famous rockstar with his own fair share of demons in his life. when they meet one day, steg drops a huge secret to d.w. that sends her once turbulent life through a huge rollercoaster, and now she has a lot to take care of.Also in which Steg is trying to give his daughter a better life now at she's back in his life, the Reads are screwed one way or another (they don't acknowledge what'll come their way sooner or later) and D.W. now close to giving up on herself is just basically along for the whole ride.⚠TW⚠TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR ABUSE
Relationships: Claude Sebastian "Julian" Ferreira de Assis Monteiro/Miciane "Mia" Ferreira de Assis Monteiro, Opal/Steg (Steven Universe), Steg (Steven Universe) & Dora Winifred "D.W." Read
Series: The Breakin' Breakiverse AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557676
Kudos: 14





	1. Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> d.w. will be referred to as "winifred" for a while for those who are confused.
> 
> Some triggers:
> 
> Mentioned/displayed verbal/physical/psychological abuse
> 
> mentioned/displayed self-harm
> 
> Mentioned attempts of suicide
> 
> implied PTSD (primarily stemming from the constant abuse D.W. went through most of her life)

_**You're such a fuckup that not even your pathetic excuse of a real father can't even help you.** _

_**I fucking** _ _**hate** _ _**you you stupid, useless brat! You ruined my ** _ _ **life!** _

_**You're nothing but a weak, helpless slut.** _

_**Why can't you be more like me, sis? Oh wait-you can't because you're too ugly.** _

_**I told you to WEAR** _ _ **PINK!** _

_**You are nothing but an** _ _**absolute disappointment ** _ _**to this family.** _

_**Why can't you just do the world a favour and just** _ _**disappear ** _ _**already.** _

_**I HATE** _ _**YOU** _ _ **ALL!** _

Winifred knew she obviously didn't want to, but she found herself awoke to the blinding sunlight shown through her bland coloured drapes and over to pooling on the floor. Winifred gingerly stirred from her sleep, drowsily turning around as she looked up to the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan as it spun around lazily. The back of her head and upper back pulsed with minor discomfort contributing to her halfbaked slumber from last night.

Winifred just leant to the back of the headboard, her back pressing against the chilly surface as she let out a deep yawn. The sound of the box fan spinning as it generated cool air was heard in the silent bedroom. Winifred found herself pulled out of her thoughts as she looked ahead to the sound of a motherly voice resounding from beyond the wooden door.

"Winifred sweetie, get dressed, we have to go out for a while..." the voice instructed quietly but loud enough for winifred to hear.

Winifred titled to the side, letting out a slow yawn. "Yeah, thanks mumma...just don't wait up for me, just let me get some stuff together." she replied tiredly.

Winifred lazily arose from her sheets that covered her lower half like a bulky skirt, rubbing her face with her petite hands tiredly as she tried to address the presence of the sunlight that harshly radiated her dim bedroom yelling at her to wake up already. Getting out of bed she pulled her shirt over her wild hair and lamely chucked it somewhere to the floor not really caring where it ended up.

Now in her topless form she simply moved to her dresser and pulled out a pair of distressed jean shorts. Aside that she retrieved a black tank top that hung a bit loosely on her wide lower half, showing a bit of her shoulders where it displayed her small butterfly tattoo a bit. She slipped both of her feet into the shorts and straightened them up to her wide curves and buttoned them along the way. this eventually followed with slipping her feet into a pair of black thong sandals.

Tiredly stalking over to the foggy mirror that propped up to the side of the room, winifred looked at herself, brushing her hands. Her dark-brown hair was a mess from the constant twisting and turning she did every time she'd slept, meaning that she had decidedly given up on any chance of ever making it neat. The sunlight however gave a sparkling radiance to her diamond nose stud and cartilage piercings she got on the second year julian and mia adopted her. Her skin yielded a constantly faltering pale where freckles were rarely seen.

Pulling away from her reflection to risk getting sick winifred silently emerged from the room and to the stairs, where she was greeted by julian and mia standing near the door. They gave her sad looks, which winifred slightly faltered at in return.

"Hey-if you don't want me to wear this, t-then i can go change?" winifred asked, only to be cut off by mia who smiled sadly at her.

"No, no no don't say _that!_ Baby you look absolutely beautiful as always-we were sad because you looked really tired." mia backed up. Mia pushed an errant lock of hair that hung near the side of winifred's face behind her pierced ear and kissed her forehead gently.

Winifred really had no idea on how they came to be, but she felt herself bit back initial tears. She sighed gently and blinked them away.

"Thanks mumma." was all she managed to say. She refused to look her in the eyes after that, stifling herself as she did. Mia inched closer, wrapping winifred into her pudgy arms.

"I know it still hurts, baby...me and papa definitely understand...But you're with us now...that's all that matters. We _love_ you, _so_ much." mia cooed lovingly into the embrace. Winifred looked to the side during the hug trying to blink away more of the ongoing tears.

* * *

Julian and mia along with winifred trailed outside, julian carrying two large guitar cases behind him. The fresh smell of rain from last night filled winifred's nostrils. Dew from last night sprawled over the trimmed grass blades. and the sound of birds chirping into the afternoon air was heard from afar.

Julian and mia along with an errant-minded winifred boarded the car in silence, winifred into the back seat as she silently listened to some music to numb her mind from the tension that filled the car. Winifred's body pulsed with longing as she remained this way, all until less than an hour later she looked out to the window to find the car driving into a nice neighbourhood. Large flashy looking homes were rowed on after another, not a hair out of place. It was only until the car finally pulled up to the driveway of a beautiful lavish-looking estate ahead.

Gates constructed of iron slowly opened before the car, allowing julian to drive into the centre of the outside of the home. Looking up from beyond the window winifred pulled her earbuds away from her ears to dictate her full attention of the lively mansion. Water from the large fountain that was constructed in the centre of beyond the mansion spurted quietly, and like back in suburbia to match with the silent persistent chirping of birds from far away.

Julian opened the door and later moved over to the passengers' seat door to help mia out, and later over to the backseat door to escort a slightly dismayed winifred. Julian later opened the trunk to retrieve the cases and closed it as he did.

Walking up the porch stairs Mia pressed against the doorbell, and after a few seconds the one to first answer the door was a dutiful-looking housemaid, shoulders squared and hands cupped together in the owner of the mansion's obeisance.

"Mr and Mrs Ferreira de Assis Monteiro, he's right this way. Follow me." the maid instructed.

Winifred really didn't know how long the walk was as she looked all over the halls back and forth with unmistakable shock. The walls were as spacious and elegant as they could be, the soles of her shoes feeling against the alabaster tiles of the floor.

The maid finally reached their destination and dutifully opened the door to reveal the inside, which was a large black room constructed exactly like a state of the art recording studio, which was exactly what it was. Winifred's shoulders lowered-this whole tour just keep getting stranger and stranger.

"Afternoon, y'all." greeted a handsome southern like accent from behind that bought familiar smiles to julian and mia's face. Winifred pulled away from the very centre of the many thoughts that ran through her head, and who she looked at was enough to make her incredibly startled.

The man was tall and extremely muscular, a large pompadour held up and kept together by extensive amounts of hairspray while long hair that reaches to his feet. Steg pulled down his near opaque shades, showing off his sensuous dark eyes. On his arm was a stunning woman of finely tanned skin, her platinum blonde locks done in a high ponytail, and with shimmering azure eyes.

Winifred's jaw dropped considerably as she just eyed the hunky man before her with heavy awe. It was Mr Multiverse and in all of his bustling glory-right there in front of her. She blinked twice to try to think that this was all some sort of a dream she's eventually wake up from when really she realised that this was actually reality.

"And who's that little dollface over there? I don't remember you two bringing a beautiful little cutie along." steg smirked, motioning to winifred. Did steg just call her _dollface? A cutie?_

"Steg, we know you haven't gotten a chance to see her before, but this is winifred." mia beckoned. Winifred looked up to the tall man that stood opposite julian and mia with twiddling thumbs, and immediately had an undeniable look of serious shock on her thin face.

"O-oh my god. Mr Multiverse I really didn't know-a-and i swear that i didn't-and it's honestly such a huge honour." Winifred welcomed, trying to straighten her appearance for the sake of a good first impression. Winifred pushed her untidy bangs away, not having any knowledge of steg's eyes quickly widening as he got a good look of winifred's familiar looking face. She had the same glowing eyes, the same facial structure, the same cheekbones, the same hair colour. Everything was similar.

At that moment after steg connected the dots in his head for a while, steg's eyes lowered sadly as he looked towards the bewildered winifred that stood around in the distance.

_**Darlene...after all these years...i finally found you.** _

'Steg-is something wrong?' opal asked her husband, looking forward to him with concerned eyes.

"No. Everything's all good baby." he backed up giving her a charming smile to confirm his statement. "Shall we everyone?"

Julian and mia smiled and nodded, and as winifred stood around while julian and mia joined steg and opal on grabbing their individual instruments, she didn't know that steg was there to shift her dead endlessly rainy world into a whole new world of sunlight and growth.


	2. i remember you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D.W. and steg have a little conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating this story as much anymore, I was super busy working on a few other stories and I forgot this existed for a good while. this chapter had actually been finished for a while

Winifred stood far behind as she idly looked at the sight of her parents along with steg and opal concluding rehearsal for a new song. She just only turned to glance for a while, only finding herself staring at the gang instead. Opal's platinum-blonde hair whirled as graceful as a leaf as she quickly strummed on the bass, but winifred found her attention pulled to steg as he wildly jerked the many strings of his double-necked guitar with his pick all at once producing the most melodious sound to grace her ears. The structure of the guitar's sound was exceptional.

 _ **They're so good.**_ thought winfired as she looked at them with awe, only to shake her head dismissively. _**Good? They're all amazing.**_

The song ended eventually and as usual at the end of every song he either produced alone or all together steg came out on top. His now weakened left hand laid itself to rest as it delicately swung absentmindedly under the guitar.

Winifred immediately shot awoke form almost dozing off as she heard a woman shout "That was great everybody, take five" from outside the window.

At that moment winifred gently rubbed the sleep from her eyes, letting out a slowly quiet yawn as she did. Her stomach silently growled; life fo her had been so hectic for her lately that it had been at least a good three days since she had eaten anything.

Winifred perked up, only to see steg accompanied by julian, mia and opal. Winifred shrunk as she found steg look at her with those same eyes, where winifred gently bit her lip nervously.

"Winifred sweetie, steg wants to have a chat with you." mia said, smiling.

"Don't worry about a thing cutie pie, it'll only take a second." steg smiled, extending a hand for her to hold. Blushing at the nickname steg just gave her, she bit her lip tighter, unable to have or voice her own feelings properly on this matter, only taking a good second until she finally accepted.

"Uhm... yeah-okay." she said. She timidly held his hand.

Winifred's hands tightened as the limited yet panicked sound of footsteps reverberating against the tiles were all that was to be heard alone in the empty hall. winifred nervously followed after steg as he led the way to a private room, thousands of thought filling her inner head like a swarm of angry hornets that had been threatened.

Winifred finally became detached from her thoughts as steg reached their destination, in front of a door. As steg opened the door behind her winifred silently concentrated on the inhalation of the empty air and quickly followed.

Steg pulled up a chair that stood errantly over on the other side of the room for winifred, where she sat down away from steg within a comfortable distance, her hands tightly cupping as she felt unable to ever look at anything than the man that sat to her.

Steg pulled off his shades again, pointing his dark eyes to the young adult who sat not too far from him. His orbs twinkled in the sunlight contributing to his more titillating physical features.

Winifred blushed at him, but however, enervated by his look she began to speak up, "Did-i do something wrong?" she asked silently. If she did what was her sin? She stood quietly and patiently throughout the whole rehearsal not a hair of finger out of place, why was she here and what intention did steg had in bringing her along for this discussion?

"No! No, you haven't done a thing at all, dollface." Steg smiled sadly, desperate to calm her down.

Steg didn't have any sort of clue to put this into words at all, and as he tried to stricter the outcome of how this conversation between them would be in his head, he slowly began to look away to winifred. Winifred had a limp hand tightened around her arm in an attempt to stop it from shaking, trying to keep her eyes off of steg as she seemed to be intimidated by his presence as she was before.

'Dollface....i need to talk to you about something." steg said. '

Winifred perked up, at the meaning of 'talk'. Looking up at him she wanted to know further on the reason why.

"um...what is it?" she asked timidly.

Silently, taking the possible outcome all in, steg gently pulled out a small photo hidden deep in the pocket of his denim jeans. The colours in the photo had noticeably dimmed with age, and as winifred could see from afar, in the photo was a sight of jane reluctantly yet almost impassively swaddling a beautiful baby girl draped in soft blankets in her arms.

"That's...that's jane." winifred realised as she got a got look of the young woman in the photo.

Steg just gave her a sad smile. "You ain't seen nothin' yet." he disclaimed.

Steg simply held up the photo at a better angle to reveal the identity of the man who stood aside from the hospital bed. It was a sort of a young-looking steg without his large pompadour and wrinkles, his hair styled in a simple long braid swept to the side as he leant to the bed, looking forward to the baby with hopeful, loving eyes.

Winifred just took a good hard look at the photo noticing a comparison between the young steg and the current steg.

"And that's you-" she said, before immediately pausing herself.

Winifred looked at the man with lowered shoulders unable to comprehend the truth properly as she looked forward after connecting the dots for a while. Then she realised.

"You're...you're-" winifred said.

'Yes..." steg said, confirming it for her. Grabbing winifred's petite hands he glanced into her eyes, his eyes burdened with understanding and truth.

"Yes, baby...it's true. You're not Dora Winifred Read...You're Darlene Natasha Multiverse. I'm...I'm your real father." he confirmed.

Winifred felt her whole world stop to a screening halt. She just loosely yet gently withdrew letting her hands stiffen in steg's soft grip.

"You have my skin...my eyes...hell, dar, you probably might even have my birthmark somewhere." steg chuckled sadly, almost feeling a tear roll down his cheek as he did. Knowing that this discussion might end in tears later on, he blinked the stray tear away to save some for later.

Winifred just looked down unable to face the rockstar. Negative emotions ran at an all-time high through her, overwhelming her as she released a ragged sigh.

"Then-" she said pausing herself with another one. "-Where have you been all my life?"

Steg looked at winifred, expecting her to ask that question.

"You'd...might want to get comfy for this." steg said, proceeding to clear his throat. Wiping her tears away with her wrist, winifred tiredly nodded, wanting to here what steg had to say about her.

"Your mother and i...we didn't have the best relationship back then." he began to explain. "We met somewhere at a restaurant...we went back to my place and messed around for a while...and in less than a few months later...i got her pregnant."

"When she found out, she panicked so much, she didn't want any of this to go that far. I had absolutely no idea she was married then and then we argued about it...and again all of the stress of being in the middle of this situation quickly got the better of her...and she took it out on you before you were even born."

"After all that....when she gave birth to you, you could barely walk since then...jane...she *sigh* she hated you so much. Blaming you for ruining her life, her chances of becoming a successful businesswoman.

I was there to take care of you...fed you, bathed you, changed your nappies, loved and protected you when no one else did...and one day...she came along, and you were really sick...She yelled at you for crying too much, and i got so pissed-i kicked her out. She threatened me, and i didn't see her for a while until she came back to take you away. I tried so hard to have you in my arms again..until she lied about me abusing her."

The heavyweight settled deeply into the bottom of winifred's chest and pulsed through her lithe being unable to fully register what he just told her. Winifred's hands gripped onto her hair gently with urgent confusion.

'I could've been locked up....but fortunately, all i got was just a restraining order. if i was in jail....that...that probably would've been the very last i've seen of you." steg continued for now.

Steg looked up at winifred and what he saw before him made his heart wrench with deep sorrow. Before him sat his little girl who had the face of a beautiful, sad-looking angel, glossy amber eyes and trembling rosy lips raising into a frown. She silently looked at him, looking like a sad child with those teary eyes, clearly worsening the mood as she sighed tiredly, what seems to be an almost choked sob nearly yet noticeably escaping through her lips.

Steg looked back at her equally teary-eyed, sharing that same sorrow as he did.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly, his generally handsome and collected voice now diminished to a nearly silent squeak. "I'm sorry darlene...So sorry...."

Steg went forward and proceeded to hold winifred close, his muscular arms looping around her slim torso. As winifred was drawn close she found brushed against his chest.

"I'm so sorry, darlene baby...I never meant to desert you...i'm a horrible father...." steg wept silently, tightening his grip. As winifred felt her thin body pull into his chest closer as he did, her nostrils were greeted to the scent of cigarette smoke and leather. 'My fucking god.....i'm awful."

As steg embraced her, sobbing inaudibly as he did, winifred's entire world broke from its immobile standing and spun at a breakneck pace, thousands of thoughts swirling in her head as she finally lapsed deep within them. she knew that her mother always hated her because of those reasons but she didn't know that Mr Multiverse, the god of rock and roll was her father all along. Asides from his past alcoholism that managed to spoil a bit of his reputation, in the media steg owned such an inextinguishably clean image where he didn't feel the need to hide his many secrets that sometimes included some daemons from the past.

Feeling her body become paralysed with profound sorrow tears from before came back with a mocking vengeance as they began to pool her eyes. The tears began to cascade down her cheeks and onto the fabric of steg's finely sewn leather jacket. Winifred stopped stifling and stiffening within his grip, allowing her body to relax into steg's arm's too tired to feel uncomfortable by his move as she proceeded to let her tears fall freely.

"I don't hate you, daddy..."

Steg could only withdraw from her with awe, stilling as he was unable to register from her response, especially the way she addressed him. The room was blanketed in nothing but eloquent silence after winifred's declaration.

"....what?' steg said, his voice hoarse from his sobs.

Winifred looked at the startled man that stood silently before her, watching as he looked visibly unable to register her sentence. Winifred released a silent raggedy sigh into the empty air that she held in so long throughout the time they shared together quickly scrubbing away tears that flooded her cherubic face from earlier as she did. Steg however tried to clamp down at his shock expecting a response from his daughter.

"I said i don't hate you..." winifred sniffled. "All my life i've been so lost without you....all my life i was always kept left in the dark about you." winifred said.

"The only thing i ever got out of her is that you left because of how much of a burden i was for everyone...i still had no idea who you were, or who was there to guide me all my life... and now it was you who was right there in front of me...all along."

More tears began to swell in steg's eyes as winifred spoke. "Darlene...." he said, immediately cut off as winifred moved forward to hug him.

"I love you...you're my papa, not him....' winifred said. As she said that, steg might've realised that she might've mentioned david and not him.

Letting the tears fall for the umpteenth time steg eased into her arms, looping his muscular arms around her thin waist.

"Please...please, don't leave me"

'No...i'll never leave you, baby...you'll always be my little girl..." he said whispering gently into her ear. "I love you so much girl....know that."

'I know...." winifred murmured from within silently, inching deeper. Tears that ran rampant once again sprung free. Winifred began to fully conceal her face deeper into her chest, every emotion she felt thought this whole scenario finally releasing as she began to cry into his chest. Deep body racking sobs that had been held in and bottled so long by her for years on end, one after another were heard from his chest as winifred cried into it, steg not caring about her tears getting his shirt and jacket wet as he held onto his daughter.

Through the open door steg and winifred didn't notice that from there julian, mia and opal looked on with teary eyes. Julian had his eyes closed, trying not to cry but his feelings own on the way. The story of winifred's true past was enough to absolutely infuriate him, while the story made opal and mia absolutely sick on their ends.

It was only a moment before the three finally went inside the room, and began to wrap winifred and steg into a tight hug. daring not to ever let go from her. Winifred sat there in all of their arms, crying hard and loud, all until it reached a sudden point where she couldn't take it anymore. Her head almost ached from the back from overexerting herself from doing so, and her throat was thick and raw from the loud, harsh weeping.

As steg held onto the sobbing winifred he began to lapse deep into thoughts knowing yet silently vowing that he was going to be the one to get his daughter's life back on track, no matter what the cost may be for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it out D.W., let it out.
> 
> nothing like hearing a world famous rockstar break it to you that he's your real dad. Honestly about time i finally managed to I got the ball rolling on this story


	3. Papa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter

_"What the fuck are you doing to my daughter? Huh?"_

_Jane shot up and gently sat darlene down into her crib as she immediately faced a furious looking steg._

_"I-" jane tried to explain, before taking a look at darlene. Now that steg was here, his presence immediately gave her nothing to lie about._

_"Steg...I was-she-"_

_"Don't even fucking try that bullshit with me jane" steg started to shout getting closer to her with such an intimidating range. "Answer my question, were you trying to put your hands on my daughter?"_

_Annoyed by her silence as she tried to find an excuse to make, steg shook his hand and began to yank her out of the nursery and into the living room. Jane winced with pain as steg threw her onto the couch. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she looked up to glare at steg at his nerve, only to have her eyes widened at the scowl he gave her._

_"Answer my question." Steg snarled. Did you try to hurt darlene?"_

_Jane's shocked expression lessened to only morph into an angered one. "So what if i did?" she snapped. "I can't deal with staying in the same room with a brat that just makes my ears hurt all the time."_

_Jane's look of anger contorted into a wry smirk, where she released a malevolent chuckle out to a fuming steg that stood before her defensively._

_"But i supposed i should be upset at you about this." she admits,shifting her ire from darlene and over to him. "Before you asked me to be your lover, what did you promise me? That I'll never have to pull my own weight for you, that you'll give me all of the love I need? What about now steg? You're always so busy trying to make your stupid pipe dream come true while you just leave me alone to deal with staying around with whatever crap that little mistake has over there wants to put me through."_

_"Would you just fucking shut up already?!" steg roared, finally having enough of her shit. "For christ's sake jane, are you even hearing yourself talk?! Darlene's just a baby!"_

_"I do know that no one's going to put up with all of that crying with her around." jane protested._

_How do you even know that?!" Steg yelled back._

_Jane stood back, before allowing her lips to split into another malicious grin. "Honestly...do what you want "Mr Multiverse"." she scowled at him, spitting out the provisional stage name steg gave himself mockingly. "Without you around to stand in my way I still have a long line of pursuitors that could give me all I ever wanted and more...and without you and that little piece of shit on my tail..."_

_Steg just only seethed at her with gritted teeth, trembling fists clenching tightly until his knuckles whitened at the way jane addressed darlene._

_"Maybe I'll be asking a gun to put myself out of my misery like you the second she grows up."_

_At that moment a sickening **smack** to follow with a **thump** against the carpetreverberated throughout the room only to later die into the silence. Jane's head wildly snapped forward to the side as she felt the pain of the palm of steg's hand connecting with her cheek._

_Holding her cheek she shot up at steg ready to fire back, "How dare you put your hands on me?!" she shouted with intent to argue until steg cut her off._

_"Get out."_

_Affected at being slapped jane turned back now looking shocked at steg before her. Moderate general anger couldn't even begin to describe his expression, as jane just wielded around under the power of the scowl he gave her. Steg was undeniably furious, his muscular hands quickly clenching and unclenching, his initial anger increasing to nothing but an essence of pure white-hot **rage,** looking at jane with his scowl of a snarling pit bull after it had been threatened. If steg could breathe fire jane would've been a lump of ash at this moment._

_"Get. **Out.** " he demanded again quietly yet snarlingly, nothing but intense uncharacteristic fury in his tone. Not thinking straight from his fury he became openly indifferent to his hand aching from pain due to the impact of the slap. _

_"Excuse me?" jane demanded an answer until steg cut her off._

_"My house." he corrected his voice still brimming with tranquil, extreme fury. "Get the fuck out. I want you out of my life, jane. I never want to see you again, never want to talk to you again, never want to breathe near you again. You disgust me." Steg launched jane's purse at her, watching with red eyes as he watched jane fumble around with the bag in her arms._

_Looking up jane gave him a defiant look of malice that seemed to be no match to the look he gave her. "I'm not forgetting this, steg, and don't think i ever will.' she said, poking at his chest much to his constantly growing lividity "You'll regret this. I swear to you that i'll make it so that you'll never work in this town again."_

_Quickly swatting jane's had away from his chest steg only snarled back at her. "I can clearly see you trying to fail at that, because no matter what you're nothing but all talk and no action." he said. The rage from earlier that emanated outside his being evident on his face nearly began to lower a bit as he looked on at jane about to leave his life._

_Jane silently picked herself from the carpet and pulled a stray lock of her hair back, brushing dust off her dress. Not looking back jane walked forward to the door, turning the knob and disappearing out the door as she walked away with stinging eyes._

_Steg just stared on at her departure, eyes stinging bitterly, only drawing to a close when he found himself awake from lapsing into constant thoughts that separated him from his rage as he heard the sound of crying all the way from the other room._

_**Shit,** steg thought. **Darlene's awake.**_

_As steg ran into the nursery he could see the sight of darlene squirming around in her crib, wailing loudly as she did. Steg sadly scooped his baby into his arms cradling her gently. "It's okay my shooting star, daddy's here...." he cooed silently, carefully pulling the fussing baby to his chest. As he did, he walked over to the other side of the room and sat down gently into the rocking chair, trying to calm her down._

_Steg sat there for a while rocking the chair in place gently as he tried to make the tense darlene's little body relax in his warm embrace._

_"Dad's here, starlight, don't be scared...she won't be back to hurt you again anymore...i'll be damned sure of it."_

_Little did he know, along the way life for darlene was ready to get a lot worse even without jane in tow._

_._

_._

_._

_**Jesus fucking christ, i'm such an idiot.** _

_**How could I possibly be so stupid enough to ever think she'd be okay with her?** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> making steg curse is fun. Also d.w. will now be referred to as 'Darlene' here from now on  
> thanks for reading! i've been working on the remaining few chapters after this way before i posted the second chapter so they should be out sometime real soon. happy 420!


	4. Never Mourn the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D.W.'s traumatic past, this delves into her life as a toddler-young adult after jane made good on the particular promise she sworn against steg from the last chapter.
> 
> ⚠TW⚠//SELFHARM/ABUSE/VOMITING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠FINAL TRIGGER WARNING FOR SELFHARM/ABUSE/VOMITING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  
> 

**_Pathetic fuckup._ **

_**Piece of shit.** _

_**Weak, helpless slut.** _

_**Disaster warning.** _

**_Mistake._ **

_**Whiny little bitch.** _

_**Can you ever see what you're doing?! You're always making Mum and Dad old and it's all your fault! It's because all you ever do is sit their cry and whine all the freaking time! I hate you D.W., I swear I really do!** _

_**That girl is so hideous that not even gold would make her beautiful.** _

_**The only regret i'll ever have is YOU being the creature that came out my body!  
** _

_**Mistake.** _

_**Mistake.** _

_**MISTAKE.** _

_**MISTAKE** _ _**.** _

_**.** _

_**.** _

_**.** _

_**I don't understand...what...what did i do wrong?** _

_The court was swayed by her mother's charms, the judge ended up ruling in her favour and after that she could never ever see her father again noting the absolutely horrified look on steg's face, colour clearly draining from it when he knew that she'd be in for a life of pure hell and there was nothing he could ever do about it to save her from it._

_Since then as she was taken away by jane, half her life had since then dropped into a nightmare of nonstop repetition before her eyes. From there on out, even as a young child she never had a single idea what it was like and how it felt to ever respect herself or think of her own, asides from the thoughts that had been planted for her._

* * *

**d.w. at 4 years**

_The sun shined in the heart of the light azure sky creating golden beams of its light everywhere, and filling the air with its crisp warm radiance. Children played outside all over the neighbourhood, errantly chasing each other as their laughs were heard in the air._

_Darlene burst out of the house at the familiar jingle, playing a bit louder as soon as she tried to catch up with it as it slowly drove by for any approaching children out on the open road._

_Darlene ran faster, the smile growing wider more and more by the very moment as she ran for the icecream truck, only to stop short once she found jane._

_"Mum!" she shouted from afar, running towards her. The soles of her cyan mary janes sopped against the dew filled grass as she ran toward her mother. "Hey! Mum!"_

_The sound of her voice was enough to pull jane away from a mysterious looking man who held her by her waist, and jane grimaced once she realised who it was._

_"Dammit D.W.," she snarled. "Just what could you possibly want from me now?'_

_"She yours?" the man flanking her had quietly asked. Jane looked down bitterly, trying to clamp down on any particular memories of darlene's birth that just flooded back to her at that question._

_"Honestly, i always wished she wasn't." she said, shaking her head negatively._

_Sighing gently looked over to darlene, eyes blazing, which unnerved the child a little. "I specifically thought i told you to clean the whole house." jane said to her._

_Darlene's eyes lowered, at the strict tone of jane's voice. "Yeah, i get it-but the ice cream man is here..." she trailed off gently, weakly pointing to the road the truck stopped in particular._

_"I dont care. Now go away. Don't bother me."_

_The pinafore clad girl just looked down, tears welling in her eyes before immediately pointing her gaze up to her "mother"._

_"Mum..." darlene tried to say. "I don't understand...why?"_

_Annoyed by her constant interruptions, Jane just crossed her arms, giving darlene a pointed scowl as she did._

_"Why are you acting like this?" Darlene had asked. "Why is everyone so mean to me? What did I do?"_

_That question was enough to interest jane in particular. She eventually face darlene, glowering at the child as she did._

_"Why?" she eventually answered. "Maybe it's because you're just nothing but a worthless, useless little accident. You're nothing but the epitome of a disappointment. We only allow nothing but perfection in this family-but you sweetie? No no no~!"_

_Jane kneeled down to a now tearful darlene's level, playfully but roughly tapping her fingertip on her forehead where she stumbled back a little. her sneer transforming to a hateful scowl._

_"And honestly-i think its better if you should probably do the whole world a favour and disappear already. After all, that weight on my shoulders would definitely be lowered if you weren't around to fuck everything up for all of us."_

_Appalled by her mother's cruelty, darlene's eyes were filled with a sea of tears. In a split second, that's where darlene began to wail out loud, tears streaming down her eyes and to her cherubic face._

_Jane sighed when her ears were filled with the sound of darlene's cries, her frustration magnifying with anger when she found out that everyone was almost staring at her._

_"I don't understand why you're crying-it's only the truth." jane shrugged unempathetically._

* * *

**D.W. at 14 years**

_With proficient accuracy she kept her eyes on her skin as she delicately yet deeply travelled the sharp blades of the razor over her soft skin, indifferent to the burning sensation heralded upon her flesh. Soon enough she was indifferent to the sight of crimson bubbling from the seam to match with a droplet of blood trailing down her wrist and dropping onto the once clean alabaster sink._

_Tears bubbled in darlene's eyes as she looked at the bloody incision on her delicate wrist. Tears ran down her face to mix her face of snot and sweat at every turn. Darlene tearfully gripped her locks while gritting her teeth behind her pink lips, letting out loud sniffles as she dared not cry._

_"D.W.?' A voice belonging to that of a child resounded from the wooden door. A heavy wave of shock snaked through her thin spine, trying to observe the source of the voice._

_"yeah...?" she lamely responded from the other side of the door_

_'Um, so mum says its time for dinner." kate said. "She told me not to tell you, but i figured that since if you might be hungry..." the girl trailed off._

_Darlene immediately wept her tears away, sniffling nervously. "Thanks katie-bug, i'm not hungry though so just go on without me." she said in a weak tone._

_From outside the wooden door darlene could listen to the little pitter-patter of footsteps reverberating against the carpeting._

_As she began to mull over what happened following that, she began to think; out of everyone in the family, kate along with may were the only ones to actually have a shred of decency for her. They were there to actually comfort her in her time of need. Times were always so hard for her along the way. Days were always hard for her to breathe and yet they were always by her side no matter what._

_After that she turned on the tap to wash her wrists of the blood, feeling frequent sharp touches of pain as scalding hot water waded over her slashes. Wincing she grabbed a washcloth that sat with other towels atop a nearby rack and used it to wiped the blood away yielding her cuts a bright pink._

_Breathing almost heavily she helplessly stared into the now pink-tinged water, wisps of blood errantly wandering in it, and the bloody cloth and felt her stomach perform several cartwheels, only to later heave and she moved her hands out of the way. Traces of blood surfaced in her vomit as she shot her head forward as she puked, retches and guttural coughs resounding as she tearfully shivered while limpidly holding onto her throat._

_She grabbed the bloody washcloth and rung it out to later run it through the water to clean it of any blood that might remain, leaving the white cloth washed with a medium spot of dark scarlet. She wept it over her face to wash her face of sweat and tears before later disposing of it into the hamper. she knew that it had to be thrown away sooner or later and fast so anyone couldn't see the blood._

_Darlene pulled her head up, glancing at herself in the reflection provided by the foggy mirror before her. her locks of recently washed and finely silk-pressed hair that clung above her breasts were now limp and tangled with weekly age to match with her baggy eyes and colourless cherubic face._

_Darlene instantly turned away from the haunting sight, carefully wiping away her tears with her hands carefully enough to not get any blood on her face. She opened the first aid kit to pull out a small packaging of gauze pads, and once she removed them from their place in the little box she carefully wrapped them around her wrists. looking down at the sink she felt confident once she could acknowledge that the amount of blood and vomit was now cleaned away._

_After that removal of evidence darlene slowly slipped out of the washroom and back into the bedroom locking the door before her. grabbing a grey hoodie and throwing it on the bed, she pulled off her tank top and did away with it in the hamper before pulling the hoodie over her head and quickly pushing her arms through each sleeve to obscure the bandages._

_Sighing , darlene idly opened the door,lamely escorting herself out of her bedroom and down the creaky wooden stairs and into the hall. Inside of the hall and through the kitchen air was permeated with the heavy aroma of dinner,particularly evenly cooked roast to match with vegetables, all going through her nostrils._

_Letting out another sigh for the umpteenth time, darlene dejectedly strode downstairs for dinner, bracing herself with every step as soon as she made it down the hall._

_"Hey! Dumb Whore!"_

_The voice behind her was an annoying sound belong to that of a screechy teenaged girl, so high-pitched that it could almost shatter glass in one standing if she ever screamed out loud._

_Darlene officially knew what was going to come to her as she turned around with a lowered head. Slowly looking up, before her stood Sofia and Savannah giving her smug smirks as they flanked Arthur who stared down menacingly with clenched fists._

_"I definitely have something for you to cry about." Arthur growled, the bespectacled teen cracking his fists as he proceeded to surrounded darlene along with the other two._

_Darlene slowly closed her now teary eyes._

* * *

**D.W. at 19 years**

_Darlene spent the whole few hours constantly fighting inside herself only attempting to pull herself out of her thoughts when she realised the same voice whisper itself back to life in her head._

_***this is it, you've been aching to do this for years. Don't back out now. It's now or never*** it gently told her, its intonation only being for her to hear._

_She looked over to the duffle bag filled with various clothes and what little keepsakes she had owned for herself instead of the many things jane supplied her with, before pointing her gaze over to the door where it stood next to._

_Taking a deep breath for the umpteenth time she looked onto the late afternoon window with almost impassive looking eyes that displayed a small glint of worry within them. She knew and understood quietly all the time before setting this plan in motion that if she wanted to finally get out of this hellhole she felt compelled to realise that she needed to gamble with fate to make things happen._

_Without a word and with very little hesitation darlene immediately got up from her seat on her bed and began to walk over to the door, kneeling as she picked up and hung her duffle bag over her shoulder. Over to her closet where many dresses in a myriad of every shade of pink there was one article of clothing stood out as she tirelessly slid her feet into a pair of converse she bought for herself long ago._

_Walking out of the room and into the hallway darlene felt shivers race up through her spine back and forth as the hall embraced her with its familiar bitter cold. She looked forward as she walked constantly bracing herself for whatever compelled her to realise that her fate had been sealed the second she walked down those stairs._

_Trying to contain herself for what might happen to her sooner, she silently worked her way down the stairs and made her way down to the foyer-_

_"Where do you think you're going?"_

_Darlene definitely didn't want to turn around, she was so very desperate to run out of the door and leave but knew she had to; letting go of a deep breath, she turned around, trying to put a up a strong front when she found the stares of jane along with david, along with her more vocal adversaries, which were arthur, sofia, savannah, joseph and angie. As she looked at them, she noticed that may and kate were also nowhere to be seen simply leaving her to assume that they must've hidden near the stairs._

_"I'm leaving." darlene announced almost coldly, words coming out strangled as she admitted it. She took a deep breath when she knew and understood that after her declaration she'll end up being the face of everyone's instant wrath._

_"I can't stay here anymore. I can't deal with this. I'm done." she finished._

_"D.W.-don't even be stupid. You have no money and nowhere to go." David pointed out._

_"Yeah. No one would ever take someone like you in. They'd be that forgiving to let a slut like you live in their house." Sofia muttered smugly with crossed arms._

_Jane chose to step up, going close to darlene until the two were nose to nose. The older woman's eyes blazed as she scowled at her. "And besides that-we all know very well that you obviously won't be going that far because you'll end up dead like your father. He did die because of you-not that I actually care anyway."_

_"That's what you do-you always ruin everyone's lives." Savannah sneered. "Wonder how you can actually sleep at night knowing how much of a huge fuckup you are."_

_That was what set darlene off; turning to everyone, she centred herself in front of them._

_"You damn well can't stop me either!" darlene shouted. "I'm so sick of all of you! I'm so sick of staying in a place where every waking second of my whole life revolves around me being beaten to a pulp and looked down by everyone! I'm so sick of being separated from my own fucking independence! And i'm most definitely sick of being your **fucking prisoner!"**_

_Darlene nearly forgot how to blink when jane's hand quickly went forward and smacked her across the face, sending her to the carpet. Her suitcase resounded with a thud as it fell next to her._

_"Never, ever raise your voice at me." Jane snarled, eyes stinging as darlene lied there. "Now go to your room and stay there-I can't stand staring at your hideous face anymore."_

_From within Darlene felt her blood lowly boil, magnifying and feeding her rage one by one as she heard the menacing giggles from Sofia and Savannah alike, then she slowly began to pick herself up from the carpet._

_"I swear..i swear that it's honestly so fucking hard being your daughter...so fucking hard to bear staying on the same planet as you. You're so right-everyone's lives would've been much better if i were dead, but if that were ever the case you should know that I'd rather meet a fucking truck, or better yet a crazed serial killer than die here." Darlene whispered silently._

_Feeling Jane's increasing rage radiate near her Darlene immediately shot up with the speed of a cheetah. Fury didn't even begin to describe her expression she looked at her entire family with red eyes._

_"I hate you and everything you are! I hate having to be forced to rot in this disgusting hellhole, hate having to be forced to stick around wondering when will my life actually ever begin, and most of all I hate all of you so much!" she shouted."Fuck you! I fucking **HATE** you ALL!"_

_Knocking over a nearby vase as she was blinded by her own rage, the glass hsattering upon impact with the wooden floors, Darlene pushed past jane and stalked out of the room and into the foyer tugging on the doorknob before fully opening it evading all of the shocked yet furious stares she received from her family. She stepped out of the door and into the humid air of outside of the house, roughly slamming it behind her without looking back, ignoring a voice that yelled from behind the door saying "don't let the door hit you on the way out slut"._

_She began to walk out into the sidewalk, looking down at every trail she took, evading looks she was given from the neighbours as she just walked past them, out of the neighbourhood and into the horizon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last update was 3 to 5-and-a-half months I think? i haven't gotten back to this story along with "angel with attitude" for a while honestly
> 
> i was actually working on many other stories the whole few months, but for the most part to be honest HLS was just a story/AU i created on impulse when i finished reading the Jem comic (hence why i included it in the fandom tags in case you've noticed), and to be fair it's hard for me to actually maintain some interest on stories that i've been working on consistently. while i'm still firm on the "slow updates" warning i placed on the tags, i'll still be updating HLS along with AWA, just at times where every chapter is finished or something like that, more or less. my laptop is also really slow so it'll be kind of difficult to critique and polish finished drafts. i'm honestly not really trying to be a YandereDev with this story, (like constantly promising i'll push out a new chapter but basically spend my time procrastinating the second i promise to get some work done)
> 
> i'm actually really surprised that over the hiatus HLS actually attracted 300+ views, a couple of kudos and even a bookmark??? and over to its Fanfiction.net release, where it accumulated over 200+ views?????? i know that that amount of attention isn't something for me to be proud about but i didn't really expect anyone to actually like this story or actually give a crap about it, especially that every Arthur fan I know absolutely hates D.W.'s guts, and over to the SU fandom Steg discourse is running at an all-time high (some fans stating that they hate/dislike him mainly because of his design). 
> 
> on a side note, this was actually kind of hard for me to write??? I originally didn't think of making this chapter before, but my muse had been compelling me to write it lately and i felt it more necessary to try to provide some more insight and closure on d.w.'s own backstory since i just released some details about steg's and the relationship between him and jane in the third chapter. it was also kind of difficult because d.w. is actually my most favourite arthur character (like chill out everyone, d.w. is actually super nice in the books than she is in the cartoon)
> 
> more to come


	5. before you go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another flashback chapter,sort of what you can probably consider a "de facto" continuation of chapter 5, basically a snippet of D.W.'s life after julian and mia adopted her. D.W. still finds it difficult to wipe the slate clean especially after reliving tragic memories.
> 
> ⚠TW⚠FLASHBACKS OF ABUSE/SELFHARM/MENTAL BREAKDOWN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠TW⚠FLASHBACKS OF ABUSE/SELFHARM/MENTAL BREAKDOWN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

_**A week prior to d.w. running away** _

_A turbulent storm of raindrops soundly fell one by one through the dark skies one particular late night._

_Closing the door behind her winifred walked over to her bed, absentmindedly flopping down on the side of the bed. Looking to the wall with slumped shoulders, at nothing in particular with lost, bloodshot eyes winifred slowly rose her hands to her scalp, loosening her pinned-up hair as the locks cascaded all around her shoulders and down to her breasts._

_***Don't you know what you're doing?** _

Winifred looked up, looking around as the disembodied voice filled her ears. No one was around as she tried to look around for the person who spoke up. The presence of the voice however was there for only winifred to hear all alone.

**_*How can you be expected to take care of others when you're helpless enough to even take care of yourself? You're nothing more than just a burden to this family.*_  
**

_As horrified as they come in a situation such as this winifred only remained speechless, the girl quickly wilting as a frightened look was on her face. At that moment, a tornado of purely sickening thoughts went through winifred's head like ants swarming over discarded food to a point._

_***I mean...don't you see?"** the voice continued. **"I know that not a single person here wants you around. Not even may and kate, no matter how much they care. Everyone here's happy, but when you come in, its always the farthest thing from. Do you want to know why? Because you exist.***_

_***Honestly, if i were you-i'd take how everyone feels about this and just kill myself and be done with it. Because if you do-surely everyone's lives would be better than before?*** _

_Winifred's hands shakily rose to her ears desperately trying to block out every horrible word._

_"Shut up...." she breathed out shakily._

_***Think about it first.*** _the voice cooed. _*Would everyone really come to terms with living on the same planet as you?*_

_Winifred covered her teary eyes with her trembling hands, her body now twitching uncontrollably.  
_

_"Shut up!" Winifred yelled.  
_

_***Just think about it. Because at this point...you have absolutely not a single thing left to lose.*** _

_The wry voice became convinced that a deeply horrified winifred finally got the message. Winifred just stood there with a horrified look in her face, panting hard and aloud as she looked up. **  
**_

_"Shut UP!" Winifred repeated, roaring out tearfully. "Shut up, shut up, shut UP!"  
_

_Snatching a pillow and throwing against the wall to nothing in particular, Winifred looked at the spot where she threw it before her, breathing picking up as her resolve immediately broke._

_Shaking her head winifred wailed loudly as she gripped onto her hair. The sounds of her throaty sobs filled echoed and bounced off the walls of her empty room. The voice was there to surround her, relishing into her terrified guiltridden sobs._

* * *

_** Present day ** _

_**Please,** winifred thought silently, deeply begging to no in particular. **Please-just please be quiet.**_

_The harder winifred tried to consistently deny herself of the voices- and the more desperate she became in the middle of doing so-the louder and rowdier they became, slowly becoming all she hears. And at that moment, many other familiar voices of the past soon joined in._

**_Please-_ **

**_...oh god...she's a crybaby- _ **

**_...nothing but a weak, helpless slut- _ **

_**..she's a disaster warning- ** _

_**Shut up.** _

**_...nothing but the epitome of a disappointment-  
_ **

**_...never asked to have you as a child- _ **

**_...maybe D.W. only stood for "dumb whore"- _ **

**_STOP!_ **

**_....you ruin everyone's lives- _ **

**_...waste of air- _ **

**_...filthy whore- _ **

**_...hideous face- _ **

**_....bastard child- _ **

**_....stupid, useless- _ **

_**Shut. UP!** _

_**...fucking piece of shit- ** _

_**...freak- ** _

_**...slut- ** _

_**...mistake- ** _

_**...this stupid fucking brat- ** _

**_...such a fuckup that not even- _ **

**_...waste of space- _ **

**_...piece of trash- _ **

**_...pitiful- _ **

**_...she's so fucking worthless that only a crazy person would actually give a damn about her- _ **

**_...looking at you makes me sick to my stomach- _ **

**_...you should just go kill yourself- _ **

**_...worthless, useless little accident- _ **

**_ ACCIDENT,  _ **

**_ ACCIDENT, _ **

**_ ACCIDENT! _ **

**_ Why didn't you die with him? That way this whole family could be free from YOU! _ **

_"Please...please-"_

_Suddenly, almost out of pure resistance, winifred slowly rose her head to look at the mirror._

_In the reflection stood winifred before her running away from home, but with major, noticeable limitations to coincide her appearance; the reflection looked battered and helpless to the eye, prominent bruises canvassing her almost every area intertwining with her pale olive skin in sight with dozens of tears streaming freely and making clean tracks on her discoloured cheeks. Scarlet blood caked heavily into her scalp and nearly matted into her skull discolouring the very top of her scalp and to her tangled hair, the side of her face puddling with blood._

_She remembered that night fondly, more so even like the back of her hand-david came home one night after a tumultuous night of heavy drinking, where his now enraged sights were set on a defenceless winifred who had been 16 at the time. There, for an agonizing 2 and a half minutes the unleashed his drunken rage out on winifred who later blacked out after her body gave out from taking in only so much of the catastrophic amount of pain. Looking at the stitches she received from that night still immensely haunted her._

_As she gave the reflection another long once-over to make sure she wasn't dreaming, winifred's breathing gradually picked up later reducing to quick, hitched breathes, her irises quickly shrinking to pinpricks with every loud gasp. Her shaking hands slowly rose and clung up to her pierced ears._

_Julian and mia were sleeping together at the time, julian holding mia in his arms as the sheets encircled the two. Julian's eyes later quickly shot awoke as a piercing scream later reverberated through their nearly open door, followed by a loud shatter.  
_

_"What-?" julian whispered silently, later rising out of bed. "What the hell was that?"_

_"That...that came from winifred's room?" Mia suspected._

_After mia's speculation, not a second more the two immediately hopped out of bed, charging into the hall and opening the door to winifred's bedroom._

_As the couple opened the wooden door to winifred's bedroom, they became aware that she wasn't in it-however they could also see the washroom door was locked shut. As the two silently waked in, they strained their ears to the sound of loud, heartwrenching sobs ringing within the door in particular._

_Julian was the first of the two to step up with mia quickly following him, trying his leather glove-clad hand on the doorknob and furiously jiggling it. Holding the knob he later proceeded to rap against the door expecting an answer._

_"Winifred, you in here?" he asked. "It's just us, baby, open the door."  
_

_"Go away!"_

_"Baby, please open the door." mia begged. "We heard you scream a few seconds ago, we're so worried about yo-"_

_"I said **NO!** " winifred shouted brokenly "Go away! Stay away from me!"_

_"Winifred, either open this door or we'll let ourselves in, you hear me?" julian declared, voice guarded as he did. Nothing came out from the other side, save for winifred's sobbing._

_Mia tried to raise a hand to julian's shoulder, giving him a look of yearning as she gently shook her head. The silence left winifred to silently take it to mean that they might've left her alone._

_Julian shook his head with close eyes as he moved forward. With no time to think, lifting up his foot julian gave the door a good firm kick, the door eventually giving way where it slammed to the wall. With that julian and mia immediately dashed into the washroom._

_"Oh winifred! Baby, what's wro-" mia stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she walked in with Julian flanking her, and the sight the two knew they would never forget the second they saw it instantly made them want to vomit._

_Inside the large mirror was completely shattered, few pieces missing from the frame which added to the almost sickening macabre atmosphere of the area. Over to the corner sat a dishevelled winifred who shakingly curled up into herself as she sobbed out loud. Sharp pain constantly lanced and pulsed through her trembling bloodied hands as small pieces of glass pierced mainly her fingers/knuckles where she was too consumed by her own grief to ever acknowledge it. Leftover fragments of the mirror big and small alike remained scattered on the marble floor around her, some more or less stained with blood._

_"W-winifred...no..." mia whispered almost letting out a choked sob, tears welling in her horrified eyes and colour draining from her round face as she immediately proceeded to cry. Her heart wrenched as she couldn't bear to see her adoptive daughter this way._

_Winifred's body quivered rapidly, tears running down her young face. She immediately detached her hands away from her face as she just simply hugged her knees. Her bangs clung to her forehead with blood where it slowly dripped down her face to mix with cold sweat and tear streaks._

_Mia quickly ran over to winifred's side, collapsing on her knees as she attempted to wrap the fragile girl in her pudgy arms._

_Julian stop there for almost a while standing in self-loathing silence. He was usually aware that winifred was damaged from the torment she constantly went though, now he was chastising himself for not being here soon enough._

_Closing his eyes slowly, julian found his eyes set on the leftover pieces of glass before him, where some were stained with blood. Looking at them he felt his blood boil, evident as he snarled at their presence._

_'Get...get this shit out of my way, christ..." he snarled under his breath swatting them away from his sight as much as possible with his foot._

_"No..." winifred breathed silently, violently shaking her head as she did, "No, no please just let me go..." Whispering that demand she didn't notice that julian soon followed, surrounding her._

_"Winifred, darling..." mia cooed out imploringly. Tears bubbled in the woman's eyes she attempted to tighten her grip around her as an attempt to cradle her._

" _I SAID STAY AWAY!_ " She shrieked out, desperately trying to writhe out of their grip.

_"Baby, we understand..." mia comforted. "It's okay to cry...you can cry...lots of people feel better after a good cry...you can scream, you can throw things at us, you can hit us, you can rage until the break of dawn...we understand..."_

_With tears welling in the corners of his eyes julian could no longer bear this anymore. He gently and slowly tried to reach out a shaking hand to try to comfort her, to try to do **something**._

_"Winifred-"_

_With the speed of a cheetah, as winifred leapt out of their grasp, julian and mia immediately withdrew from her as winifred snatched a leftover shard of glass that resided near the floor. Winifred saw nothing but pure red in her wake through her teary eyes._

_"Winifred!" Mia shouted frantically. "Winifred, put that down at once-"_

_" **LEAVE ME ALOOONE!!!!!!!!!!** " winifred screeched brokenly, letting out a loud, choked wail, quickly advancing to the two as she shakingly waving the glass towards them._

_"WINIFRED!!!"_

_Julian's muscular hand grabbed at her dainty wrist with a firm grip where another clamped around her shoulder. That's where winifred paused immediately, the shard later falling from her loosened grip._

_"Easy baby...easy." julian cooed into her ear._

_At that point, winifred's eyes later began to roll to the back of her head. With her body teetering loosely like a delicate glass on its rims winifred allowed herself to immediately give in to her weakness as her body gave out to the strangling pressure, her body messily slumping into a now frantic Julian's muscular arms carelessly._

_After that, all winifred saw was nothing but pitch black-the sounds of julian shouting at mia to issue and ambulance drowned out by the deafening ringing in her ears._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was originally going to drop this chapter two days ago but i never got a chance to do so. my laptop hasn't been working as of late so until i get another one I'm just holding onto my sister's old one  
>   
> I also thought it'd make sense to refer d.w. as "winifred" in this chapter seeing as that was the name she preferred ever since julian and mia took her in. i also wanted to make either sofia or jane the disembodied voice but i feel that they were too brash and more outspoken about their animosity towards d.w. so i just stuck with what i chose in the final version.
> 
> i'm really sorry for how i handled writing the mental breakdown scene or this chapter as a whole, i'm not really keen on handling subjects such as these a lot given that i've never written anything like it, so excuse me for any misinformation, let me know if i did anything wrong so i can try to address/fix it in anyway i could manage
> 
> i;m not a therapist but i think I should conclude that d.w.'s basically more or less severely damaged from the abuse she received all her life, even after they adopted her she still basically finds it difficult to trust julian and mia when they try to give her a better life,that since they have a daughter her age she's kind of paranoid that they'll eventually replace her, which contributes to the distrust. while she's trying to push away any reminiscence of her past it usually keeps coming back like a boomerang which causes even more problems for her
> 
> More to come


	6. Starting over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D.W. doesn't know how to accept Opal as her stepmother.

**a few days later**

Even after what happened she still honestly didn't think the person she'd least expected to encounter in her life would be her superhero. 

She still couldn't really believe it; she was only as young as 23 and she and her adoptive parents were all due to live with the hottest rock star in the world. Who just so happened to be her biological father. Julian and Mia felt it necessary to do it so darlene could be closer to her father. Darlene didn't have a clear opinion of her yet but was surprised nonetheless that opal also agreed. 

Two U-Haul trucks along with julian and mia's car parked slovenly outside the front of steg's mansion. Various uniformed men one after another that boarded the truck came and went out of the mansion, holding boxes that owned more of julian, mia and darlene's various possessions into the mansion.

Upstairs in the bedroom where she was due to make herself home at, darlene and mia were helping each other decorate her new room. To the side, boxes containing darlene's possessions had been mainly emptied but a few boxes remained.

Mia did away with the last of darlene's clothes into the drawers of the large vanity, darlene alongside her as she also did the same with her clothes but in the nearby walk-in closet before her.

"That's the last of it.' darlene said quietly, as she let go of a sigh. What she wore for today in particular was nothing but she did like to be practical when it comes to constantly moving around, it was a tied up flannel blouse accentuated with rolled up sleeves and denim shorts, her curls only moderately brushed out. 

Needless to say she strangely resembled Daisy Duke which she often got a lot by everyone today.

Walking over to the large canopy bed, darlene sat down, silently taking in the surrounding she was in for the umpteenth time. Smiling gently, mia walked over to Darlene, sitting down next to her. With a manicured hand on her lowered shoulder Mia gently pulled a stray lock of hair back and behind darlene's ear, giving her a motherly smile as she did.

"How are you doing so far my love?" she asked gently.

That happened to be one of the many same questions darlene had been asked for the past few days, along with how she slept or a confirmation of her eating anything. Darlene just tiredly gave the same answer; that she was fine, even though it was clear that that was quite the contrary from what she stated about herself as a response to those questions.

Not feeling that it would be right to keep how she felt about the whole situation bottled in this way any longer, Darlene chose to finally admit how she truly felt about everything.

"It's just..." darlene attempted to reply, before pausing herself with a sigh. "It's just really weird to me." She finished, admitting the fact that she was still processing the revelation. "I...like honestly, how do i live like this now that he's my dad...? am i supposed to live up to him? Since he's super famous? I've always been taught to be perfect...you know, having to live tour whole life in a family of insufferable perfectionists and...I just don't really know about this at all."

Mia knowing and understanding where the young woman came from with this just moved over, holding darlene into her arms, one free hand stroking through her hair.

"No baby...you're an adult with your own life. You get to make your own choices and decisions. You get to determine what you want to do with your life, and not a single person has a say in it otherwise. No one could _ever_ tell you what to do. Like steg said in one of his songs, _'you're the master of you'_. Embrace it."

Darlene just sat there, silently pondering over mia's words, all until there was a silent knock at the door. It was steg as he opened the door gently, giving a smile and wave to darlene as she looked up at him.

Beaming at the two, Mia knew that it was time for her to leave, as she should considering that she was needed to help julian with arranging their things in their new bedroom. Mia separated from darlene giving her a quick kiss on her forehead as she got up from her seat on the bed.

"I'll leave you two alone now." she said, nodding gently. Steg smiled and nodded back at her, where mia politely backed out of the doorway and into the hall to leave them alone.

 **'It's okay babe, it's just your dad. He's only dropping in to say hi. No harm done.'** she thought to herself as steg made his way inside. 

The aura he possessed and later bought on to the room was much more different than the one David had from her time of living back _there;_ it was filled with such comforting warmth in the form of an embrace that relaxed her constantly tense body instead of the wretched, acrid smell of alcohol filling her wrinkled nose. 

She took a deep breath, before looking on at steg.

"Mind if i join you, _Daisy?_ " steg said, smirking as he ushered himself to sit on her bed. Darlene blushed at that mention; holding onto the pillow she tucked safely to her chest she simply just moved over to the side, biting her lip softly.

As steg sat down next aside her, darlene immediately knew there would be another conversation to develop between them. Looking up at her father, as if on cue steg lowered his shades, giving her a smile with those dark eyes of his, defined by his facial wrinkles and crow’s feet.

Steg immediately hooked his one muscular arm around darlene's dainty shoulders pulling her code to his chest, at least pulling himself to a certain distance where darlene felt comfortable. Darlene's eyes sparkled as she found her head against his chest where steg noticed her reaction. Giving a fatherly chuckle steg looked at her with a smile.

"How's my little sweetheart doing?' he asked in a low, sly tone.

An uncertain Darlene had no idea on how to reply to that let alone even make words for herself as she found herself stopped short on speaking at all. However, after a second, not wanting to keep steg waiting she nodded a tiny bit where steg could see her response.

"Sunshine, it's okay to call me dad." he chuckled silently.

Darlene sighed knowing he was right. After the discovery, she generally stuck to calling both steg and julian 'papa", which made it sort of a bit confusing for her.

Darlene gripped onto the pillow some more, a grip so tight her fingernails almost dug into the elegant fabric, which she immediately resolved to avoid not to ruin it. 

"What are you thinkin' about honey?"

"Well-" Darlene tried to speak, the outcome being her voice coming out slightly strangled. "I...I know I'm sounding _unreasonable_ and totally _selfish_...and I'm so, so sorry about that, _really_...but-"

As darlene looked up when she attempted to finish her sentence, she felt words die in her throat as she looked up to steg. Looking at him, she realised that he must've known what she was going to say.

Steg gave her a self-assured and loving but somewhat almost sad smile as he used his one arm to hold her closer to him.

"Opal most definitely won't hurt you baby...i swear on it. She'll be the best mother to you ever... she's the sweetest, kindest, most generous woman I've ever met, and she'll be the same to you too. That was the reason i fell in love with them beautiful eyes of hers in the first place you know." steg chuckled.

At the mentioning of opal's eyes steg's mind immediately flashed back to the memory of their meeting. The sounds you’d usually hear in a crowded public area just so happened to die out by the ringing in steg’s ears as he found himself struck by the familiar sight of opal's icy blue eyes and voluminous platinum-blonde hair done in a high ponytail that reached down to her waist made her mesmeric beauty leave a huge effect on him that he'll never be able to escape from.

Dar beamed a tiny bit, later sighing. "Well...she _does_ look really nice."

Steg looked onto darlene, smiling, only to feel his smile almost lower a bit once he took a good look at her. The girl who once was a squirming baby chewing gently on her fist now grew up to be a worn-out shell of a woman with bags that wore thin around her dull brown eyes and the once endless tears from that day now dried to her skin as it made clean tracks in her discoloured cheeks. She looked so exhausted and worn.

Steg inched closer, hugging her. Darlene willfully relaxed in his embrace, feeling touches of warmth constantly alternating with comfort all through her and soothing her nerves up to a point.

"I love you daddy..." darlene whispered in his embrace, daring to go closer. Steg smiled, steadily tightening his grip with his muscular arms around her.

"Please girly, don't _ever_ be afraid to come to me for anything. If you need anything don't be scared to ask. We're all a family now. We want you to feel comfortable with all of us. I'm your father. I promise you on my heart that i won't ever hurt you like your other one did. I'll _never_ leave you alone ever again. I want you to _love_ me-not fear me."

Darlene nodded with a lowered head, resolving to go closer into the embrace as she nuzzled her head into his chest.

"I know...i will...i love you daddy." she crooned out silently.

The two later remained in the embrace for a while, however unbeknownst to them they didn't notice a familiar blonde with a high ponytail silently observing them from the nearly closed door.

** Few hours later **

In the little hours of the morning. preferably at least 5:30 am Darlene seemed to be the only person up at this time. 

The sleep was really well-deserved, for once she had a peaceful dream about soaring through the clouds and the freedom it provided and she enjoyed every second of the dream, however it would've been more so even if she didn't unexpectedly wake up. The restful sleep was emphasised with the super comfortable mattress reclining her tense back with the warm elegant sheets. She looked like a sleeping angel, curls abound and splayed out over the two pillows she lied her head on.

Trying to wear off her exhausted mind darlene simply wandered the astonishingly large halls of the mansion that premature hour. She tiredly dragged a lock of hair and pushed it behind her ear to refrain it from loosely dangling over her visibly exhausted face. On the subject of “exhaustion” darlene coincidentally slowly found herself getting tired along the way.

Before darlene could make her way back into her room quietly, she was immediately stunned out of her weariness as she later found herself walking right into someone before her. Darlene quickly looked up and immediately stepped back with clear and present apprehension and dread all into one as she looked at her would-be stepmother. The statuesque woman's appearance was a far cry from what she normally wore for in place of her usual clothes were only a periwinkle tank top with dull grey shorts.

"Madam Opal," darlene started to ask for forgiveness albeit her words being quiet and careful, "I'm really sorry, forgive me."

Darlene didn't want to, but she felt it necessary to leave opal's presence _immediately;_ the near faint yet pleasant scent of body soap cloying her nose indicating that opal might've bathed before making her way down the hall, and what only she felt what was about to be tension brewing between the two of them. 

To Darlene's initial surprise opal just smiled gently at her, softly resting a hand on the brunette's lowered shoulder, "Hey, don't apologise. It's not your fault."

Darlene was later mollified, _very;_ a side of her constantly expected Opal to snap at her clumsiness and tactlessness, but what she got over on the receiving end was the complete opposite. Her voice was deep calm and soothing, and almost very motherly akin to Mia's.

"To be honest, I actually wanted to chat with you for a while." opal requested, choosing to immediately break the then-growing silence between them.

Darlene's eyes widened at opal's sudden request. "Really...?" she said silently. Opal nodded, smiling. 

"Follow me." she reminded. Darlene nodded and later began trailing after the blonde carefully dictating every move she took as she led the way. Thoughts nervously plagued darlene's head. What would opal want to talk about with her? At that question, darlene felt immediate dread filling her being as speculation ran through her head; could the conversation they'll have later on would actually be the farthest thing from? will opal break it to her that she didn't ask for a daughter? Will opal threaten her into submission to get her to keep her distance from steg? 

Shaking her head with tightened eyes, darlene tried to push those sickening thoughts away. Deep down she really knew opal wouldn't be _that_ cruel, not enough to make the same mistakes jane did. 

Darlene mentally recoiled with sheer loathing and disgust as she mentioned the woman's name. That was a memory she never _ever_ wanted to reflect on now.

The two eventually made it downstairs, darlene following along as opal made it to the spacious, glamorous-looking kitchen. To the long island opal pulled up two long wooden chairs for herself and darlene to sit in, which darlene almost reluctantly sat herself down in.

"You're not in trouble or anything, don't fret." opal reassured to darlene, who nodded back as she did. "I just want to chat with you."

"What...did you want to talk about?" Dar eventually answered silently. 

Opal smiled at her, letting go of gentle sigh as she lamely reclined on the back of the chair, her arm resting on the sleek marble finish of the island. 

"To be honest, I didn't really expect any of this right now, not to sound rude." she replied openly. "This new adjustment's kind of a little bit... _unfamiliar_ to say the least."

Darlene slowly wilted by that sentence, where Opal quickly noticed that her choice of words seemed to be an overstatement. Trying to appease the girl anyway she could, she simply held her hands into her's with an intention to make things right.

"I'm so sorry if that sounded rude, really." Opal initially apologised. Darlene shook her head wildly. 

"N-no...it's okay. I'm fine. Please don’t worry about me." she backpedalled. "I just..." she trailed off. Opal looked forward trying to figure out what would she say next.

Darlene looked up at opal, eyes raised with an almost openly suppliant glint as she looked forward to the woman before her. "Are-are you mad at my daddy for all of this?" she said. 

"No..." opal backed up. "We actually met and got together long before I saw you…we met at a mall. I was searching for a gift, and that’s when I met him. We got some lunch and talked for a bit knowing that we both liked music…we eventually did a jam session together, and when we were alone that day that's when destiny came in to bind us. We dated for 3 years since then and later got married. Since then I was always aware that steg always seemed to have a lot of skeletons in the closet...but we always knew and understood each other's secrets."

The truth behind their relationship had seemed to pique dar's interest, where she began to pipe up. 

"All that long time...?" she said. Opal nodded, soundly establishing that.

‘Life was going great for us- _really_ great. Soon after we met Claude and Miciane-your parents, and then things were in perfect harmony.” Opal confirmed, beaming.

Silently nodding, Darlene however simply chose to go further after taking in that information. 

"So...did you and...my daddy ever...tried to have kids of your own...? I mean, now that you spent years married together..." 

"Even though we've been so in love with each other for years on end now, things were actually starting to get a bit _lonely_ between us back then..." she explained. "So naturally, steg and I planned to have some children down the line. We were dying to have twins. But with touring and trying to push out his next album getting in the way-we never really found enough time to properly get started...so thanks to _that_ , we just ended up forgetting about it in time."

Darlene nodded with slightly widened eyes, laden with heavy understanding. Opal smiled, going forward as she rested a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"But since it all comes down to this...I just want to say that I would absolutely _love_ to be your stepmother Darlene." she guaranteed. Darlene's dark eyes sparkled at that. "I know what everyone put you through the way they all did back then and I know that the pain's still there....I _definitely_ agree on behalf of the guys and miciane that you _definitely_ don't deserve to be treated that way. We both owe you a _massive_ debt for what you've been through. Like Dad said, if there's _anything_ you need, please ask, I'm here. We _all_ are."

After registering opal's words, darlene initially felt a smile creep on her face, where later a mounting grin later made its way to form on her plump lips. Opal smiled. 

"Thank you so much..." darlene said quietly. Opal smiled lovingly, drawing darlene closer to her chest as the two proceeded to embrace each other. Darlene softened considerably as she felt safe in opal's lithe, warm arms. 

"I love you mum...thank you for everything." darlene declared from within. Opal's eyes raised at darlene referring to her as such, before later smiling wider. 

Darlene's heart felt heavy, not with constant strain and pressure that she always felt before when it felt this way-it was filled with a surprising rush of positive thoughts as she remained in the blonde's arms.

**_*Maybe she'll be a great mum after all.*_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter's so short, it's mainly a relationship-establishing chapter for d.w. and opal. The two still kind of have a lot to know about each other down the line now that they're a family. Opal's one of my favourite SU characters (next to emerald, peridot, spinel, bismuth, steg and pink pearl) so even though her personality doesn't really have much to explain in the show i just made her a kind and caring stepmother to D.W. here
> 
> More to come, I've been working on some following chapters a couple of months ago so they should be on their way very soon


	7. Vanity is the deadliest of sin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane reaches out to D.W. for help in her time of need. What follows is a long-overdue conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoooo boy.  
> Hooooooooh boy.

**_5 years later_ **

By far the **_craziest_** things had been happening so far not only to the rest of the family but more importantly over to darlene, who in current event-wise expectedly happened been the most affected out of everyone else alongside steg.

After steg's full revelation to the public got out, it immediately started hitting everywhere on the internet pretty much any site you can think of, hitting social media platforms such as mainly Twitter, trending news circulating of the reveal with either the hashtag "Mr Multiverse" or "Darlene".

From there it was news almost everyone could ever discuss let alone even think of.

Soon after, that was when darlene immediately started to gain traction for her sudden appearance and who she is. The attention had already got up and started, many residents of Delmarva as a whole immediately running after her like daemons chasing after her heels and every other time she was seen mainly with steg or with julian and mia outside of the mansion people would ask for autographs or photos, which she would end up giving out of the kindness of her heart.

Though it _was_ a bit much on her part she had to realise that the attention wasn't unwelcome.

**_Who's the perfect child now, Arthur?_ **

Darlene went from D.W. Read to simply Winifred Ferreira de Assis Monteiro and all the way over to "Little Miss Multiverse/Princess Multiverse" as she was unofficially declared by all of Steg's fans and through every waking moment of her life, and right here she was actually loving it. Even though a sizeable amount of the attention she received stemmed from her and steg’s revelation being a source of consternation since then.

Steg had stayed true to his own promise that he'd make darlene live the happiest life anyone could ever give her, with opal, julian and mia by his side, and he was right-for the first time ever asides from being adopted by julian and mia, even though it was a slow healing process for her in the making, she was _finally_ comfortable with living her life and being in her skin.

Darlene sat before her large vanity mirror one late night, dressed in a silk chemise that hugged her bottom-heavy body gently and neatly, allowing the bristles of her hairbrush to sweep back and forth through her long hair.

As she finally sat the brush down, she noticed her eyes glancing over the various contents that sat atop her vanity-which was a series of various cosmetics and perfumes.

 ** _*Right…*_** darlene recanted, eyes sparkling as she stared at what was before her. ** _*This is all mine now.*_**

Still surely she knew that she couldn't run away from one question, which was how was each of her family she left behind on her own will taking this?

She almost distractedly brushed through her hair, staring at herself in the reflection as she gently immersed herself in her thoughts.

**_*I'm Mr Multiverse's daughter now..._ **

**_I'm with my real papa and I love him so much..._ **

**_I'm surrounded by amazing people who make my life worth living..._ **

**_...And now it's finally my turn to laugh at all the sick heartless fuckers who laughed at me.*_ **

Her now vengeful mind was now up and running immediately giving her an agenda of her own.

Darlene Ferreira de Assis Monteiro-Multiverse was now out for blood. Actively using her own profound rage and deep-rooted pain by putting her own vindictiveness to use.

Preferably-the blood of all of those who constantly wronged her.

And she was aimed and ready to avenge _every_ tear she shed.

=

The short walk through the streets of Delmarva felt surprisingly exhilarating, it felt really great to get out of the house to just enjoy herself rather than randomly being escorted to press conferences and interviews with Steg and the others and it really did her a lot of good.

Adjusting her studded sunglasses, darlene simply strode through the sidewalks, trying to evade those who marvelled and whispered to others at her appearance.

“Excuse me…”

Darlene originally would've assumed that it was just another fan behind her possibly asking for an autograph or photo together of some sort-but the voice sounded way too familiar to ever sound like one. So familiar that a hard, almost _sickening_ shiver sped down her spine at a breakneck pace.

Darlene gently turned around, now gradually gaping as she gave the source of the voice a quick once-over. Her manicured hands went numb where her legs felt like jelly, blood draining from her slightly round face all at once.

"D...D.W.? …is…Is that _you?"_

The weight settled in jane's chest felt unbelievably heavy as she looked at her daughter. How much she _changed_ in every way. Her new appearance was a far cry from her formerly dishevelled appearance-the various bruises on her skin faded with age, jane taking notice of the different cartilage piercings and the butterfly tattoo imprinted on her shoulder that jane _definitely_ didn't remember her getting, along with the dragon tattoo on her right arm. Full, voluminous curls were all around her shoulders. Her full, plump lips accentuating her visibly curvy features were red and down to her lower half was a dark dress with padded cups.

Darlene's glamourous appearance had contrasted with Jane who aged _poorly_. Before Darlene stood was what she thought was an absolutely _horrifying hag;_ a visible onset of severe greying was noticeable to her pinned-up hair discolouring her once curly sandy brown locks. Dark bags hung loosely under her eyes where wrinkles were seen on her face. The light-coloured business pantsuit/neck scarf combo she donned didn’t really help add the ghastly drama to her appearance.

Jane still really couldn't believe her eyes as she saw the now poker-faced woman who stood before her who was once her daughter.

"You've...you've grown _so_ much...i can't _believe_ it." she whispered. "I...i saw your name all over the tabloids..." Jane admitted. "H-how...how's life been treating you? Also...I think i've heard that you've picked up a southern accent yourself..."

"Pretty good." darlene answered, her tone almost cold. The lack of empathy in her voice asides from the southern drawl she adopted over the years was almost jarring to the ears, jane watching her with slightly widened eyes as darlene sat her purse near her side.

“Even then, it’s really good to have you back-“ Jane spoke up again, only to recoil as Darlene snatched her hand away from Jane’s modest grasp. Jane paled as she eyed darlene’s blank, if not almost _ruthless_ -looking face.

"Can we talk whatever you want to say out in private?" darlene requested formally. Now was no time for niceties.

Jane tried to lower her raised eyes, before agreeing to do so.

Along the way the two women walked away to a moderately desolate area, preferably an empty park where they were seated on a wooden bench. As they sat Jane took the opportunity to break the developing silence between them.

" _So_ much happened since you left..." she spoke up. "I...I don't even know where to start-"

"-Hey, _listen_." darlene backed up quickly, her voice and gaze gradually maintaining a bit of ice to it with every word as she continued, "Mind if you actually just _cut_ to the chase right now? In case you haven't noticed-i really _do not_ have enough time to go over the past."

With slightly pursed lips, almost if she looked offended, jane just silently simmered, and to the eye it was almost as if she was annoyed by her nerve. Pausing herself with a quiet sigh jane picked her eyes back up to darlene, only to later feel little as she looked at her-her brown eyes maintained a steely glint to them as she stared at her mother with cupped hands.

Jane just silently shook her head gently, before speaking.

"Well...to start, with me...i do admit that i've been...engaging in some affairs with men other than your father." she said evasively, before taking notice of the wary look in darlene's eyes.

“Things have changed a lot…Kate and May ran away from home, and Joseph and Angie are misbehaving…Joseph had just gotten suspended for fighting with another student over a girl I believe, where Angie’s apparently been shoplifting from what I was told. I couldn’t try to wrangle those last two for the life of me-and whenever I even dare to, I’d get way too many grey hairs…put more important, as for me and your father, our marriage went stagnant over the years and it clearly showed. We couldn’t agree with anything on proper terms, couldn’t even bother to have a normal conversation together or anything…your father was always out drinking, and him being distant annoyed me a lot….so with that, I’ve been…fooling around with other men outside of our marriage. Later, as soon as he noticed how much I’ve been going out he’s been outing two and two together…and then he finally knew.

We had a heated argument. Your father was absolutely furious; I tried to tell him that it isn’t what it looked like, but he didn’t want to hear it. He called me a slut…and then that’s what drove me to admit it. I said that I hated being married to him and called him a terrible husband…one after another came, and then he started to…beat me.

We quickly filed for a divorce and were done with it, and it was rough…he told everyone about it, and now a single person in my side of the family wouldn’t even bother to look at me the same way anymore…then later, he moved near some of his relatives. Then three years later, I received news from Aunt Minnie...she just told me that he died…apparently, from cirrhosis. I honestly always knew he had a drinking problem…but never did I ever think that he’d really take it to extreme heights, especially after he moved away.

"And Sofia…” Jane sighed. “Well, one night, two years ago, i had...a _disagreement_ with her." she started slowly. "She was angry that I didn't agree with seeing her boyfriend with her anymore...i just _thought_ he looked too dangerous to be around her. Sofia screamed back at me-saying that after your father died...i've been treating her and everyone else like... _you_.

After that, i tried to tell her that i wasn't, but she was having absolutely _none_ of it...i eventually threatened to take away her privileges if i ever see her around him again, and that's where she began to _lose it_. She was so furious, almost breaking everything in sight...and the next morning when i went in to wake her for breakfast-she _vanished_. Her closet and drawers were all cleaned out. I immediately _realised_ that she ran away, where i assumed that she must've gone to live with him...and then, right now, just about last night-I got a call from her."

"She kept crying into the phone, about how her boyfriend kept beating her. She cried about how miserable she was, and she really sounded the part....she begged me to help her. I tried to ask her about her whereabouts-until the call just hung up unexpectedly...I hear a door slam from afar when she tried to tell me-which I must've assumed to be her boyfriend...and then with that, the line went dead."

"With arthur...i guess he's a _difficult_ one. He left to move in with francine not too long after sofia left. To make it simple, he wasn't too...happy that she was getting all the attention, neither was savannah and the twins…they didn’t understand that I was only very worried for her. Then, a couple of weeks ago, i was just watching the news, only to notice that he was arrested...apparently, he had an argument with francine and then he just immediately _lost_ his temper...that he started _beating_ her around. Francine's parents immediately took it to court, and all of his screaming and _cursing_ made the judge rule in francine's favour...and now...i'm afraid arthur's going to stay behind bars for a good while."

"And savannah..." jane tried to speak. The discomfort about the girl in particular had made it hard for her to try to talk about it. "My situation with her is just the same as sofia’s…”

Darlene noticed how much she had struggled to speak properly when it came to mentioning savannah, leaving the young woman to silently assume that something terrible must’ve happened to her while she was away. Jane was mentally intrigued-good to see that dar was finally getting a clue.

“She and angie were screaming at each other…I broke them up and threatened to punish savannah if she didn’t apologise to angie, and then she threw an absolutely _horrible_ tantrum. I tried to calm her down and restrain her, but she just kept screaming, until she just stomped off and drove away to god knows where to calm down. Later on, a few minutes turned to hours, and I became worried. I tried to call her, but she never returned any of them. A few minutes later…the police called…and told me that she…died in an accident...s-she...she drove into a _pole_ and-"

As jane forced out quiet sobs, she could remember the distinct reactions from her family.

After a while of sobbing allowed by Darlene, Jane attempted to regain her composure at once, silently wiping away her tears with a silk handkerchief stored in her breast pocket.

"Why come down here _now?"_ Darlene asked hollowly. The slight lack of decency jane found in her tone made her simmer a bit-this _wasn't_ the reaction she expected.

Jane decided to turn things around. "I admit that after the divorce, and sofia leaving and arthur's arrest...I was convinced that i didn't _need_ your help...what _could_ you do?" The intonation in her voice had noticeably screamed of, _"you're still a useless brat",_ which Darlene steadily bridled at.

"Anyways...you're older now...you should know how much this is hurting me...how much...how much _Steg_ hurt me too in general." Jane said softly. "Maybe he has it out for me-putting my family through this amount of suffering...but I'm just too... _scared_ to know."

"So I'm asking you this..." she said, looking into Darlene’s inexpressive eyes. "Please D.W., you're my daughter...help me. If you don't i'm going to lose my home anytime soon, and me and your siblings won't have _anywhere_ to stay...so _please_....say you _will...?_ "

Silence.

Jane's eyes simply bore into darlene's pleadingly, the older woman expecting her daughter to give in, especially with the amount of sympathy she displayed earlier.

Darlene just simply shook her head, and looked up, before immediately acknowledging the noticeable glint of anticipation in her eyes.

With furrowed eyebrows, she finally began to speak up, taking notice of jane dictating what she expected to be an agreement.

"Do you _really_ _think_ you _deserve_ my forgiveness?"

Jane looked up, seeming almost as if she didn't hear what darlene said.

"I...w-what?"

Darlene just kept her glance pointed towards her, the glance in question increasingly forming to a dark scowl with every second.

"Clearly you _haven't_ heard me before," she said. "Do you think that you _really_ _deserve_ to be _forgiven?_ Do you _really_ and _honestly think_ , that after _everything_ you've _said_ and done to me all my life, you actually _expect_ me to give you charity out of the kindness of my own _heart? To buy into your whiny sob story?_ Not to brag but in case you haven't noticed, i'm _much smarter_ than that, _thank you very much._ "

"D...D.W.-"

"And you have the fucking nerve to accuse _my daddy_ , who I find necessary to remind you that he's a thousand times _better_ than that drunken _bastard_ , of putting you guys through separate unrelated issues he has no part in?"

Jane remained silent for a while, before immediately realising that she still had enough time on her hands to at least _try_ to salvage this discussion.

"Well..it's not that easy but-"

"No, no. Actually- _you know what?_ " darlene backpedalled. "You're on your _own_. I suggest you miss me with that _pathetic "oh D.W. please help me"_ _bullshit_ , because I won't _ever_ be here to help _you_ out. And to think you come back expecting me to forgive and forget? I don't think I'm _entitled_ to help you out with your issues."

Jane nearly shrunk back at her sudden outrage, not understanding how to properly and at the very least just _calmly_ comprehend it.

"D.W., please, don't be like-" jane tried to say, hand slowly reaching to her before backing away as dar swatted her hand away.

"Do _not. **Fucking**. Touch me. Get your greasy hands away from me._" darlene growled. "Let's be real here. The feeling’s obviously been mutual for years but I _hate_ you. _I hate you to the very core_ and I _always_ did. You're not _just_ a lousy mother, but you’re nothing but a disgusting, completely _inhumane_ _bitch_ -you were the _worst_ mother anyone could _ever_ have. All my life, i've been constantly abused in every way you can even think of, starting when i was only a little baby; you made me feel _guilty_ for existing, you got the _entire_ family to gang up on me to constantly _antagonise_ me for who i am, _you nearly tried to **kill me.** _You _provoked_ your own _children_ and _husband_ to beat me on a daily basis _until i fucking threw up._ Another time where _I almost fucking **died!**_ And now years later, you have the _nerve_ , the _gall_ to worm your way back into my _life_ and try to _guilt_ me into _forgiving_ you!"

Stunned by her rage, jane looked almost helpless, words dying in her throat as she dared look up at her daughter. She could see the storm of various emotions under the girl's furrowed eyebrows; grief, and more predominately nothing but visceral **_rage_** and **_hatred_**.

"B-but...but D.W...you _can't_ do this! You can't do this to _me!_ We're...we're a _family!_ " Jane tried to protest.

Darlene whirled around, Jane blenching with shock she looked down at her. Darlene had the face of a snarling pit bull, tears flowing with no hesitation down her eyes and to her cheeks as her body shook with magnifying rage.

"Family? We're a _family?_ " darlene shouted. She was _pissed_ now, clear and evident as jane slowly tried to back away from her as much as she could. "From the _moment_ you gave birth to me, from the _moment_ you _took_ me away from _my_ dad, the _moment_ you and everyone else _snapped_ at me I _never_ considered _any_ of you as a family! We were _never a family!_ You completely _violated_ the trust I had in you and _stomped on it!_ How do you _expect_ me to go on about my life as if nothing ever even happened? Now that you're going through your own hardships, you just _boldly expect_ me to help you in your time of need! God _forbid_ you and the others were waiting so _long_ to see me crash and burn so I'd come back _begging to you!"_

As of now, completely corrupted by her own primal rage darlene was too blinded by it to see the genuine _tears_ falling down jane's face.

"No..." jane whispered out tearfully. She grabbed darlene's hand to try to hold her back, her hushed voice becoming projectile as she did, " _No!_ No D.W., now you're just being unfair! Right now i'm trying so _hard_ to apologise to you for everything, but you’re being se-"

Darlene took her hands away from jane’s grip, " You just don’t _fucking_ get it do you? _Get your disgusting hands off me! Don't you **DARE fucking** touch me!_" she roared.

Jane’s sudden anger formed from within; it came to life to coach her into realising that now was the time for her to stop staring and start doing, as she began to noticeably seethe at darlene’s words.

 _"-D.W.!_ ” Jane’s lips were twisted to a scowl as she finally snapped. “Will you just _shut up_ and just _fucking listen to me already-_ “ Her hand quickly shot out to grab onto her wrist with a clear intention to intimidate her into submission as she did before, only to quickly stand back as Darlene immediately snapped back at her.

"You _shut up!_ ”she yelled. _"_ Can't you realise that you absolutely _disgust_ me?! How dare you think that I’ll just randomly forget what you’ve done to me?!”

Jane let go as she just wielded around, “You see, this is _exactly_ why I fucking _hate_ you! What’s even the point of coming around when you’re being too _stupid_ and _selfish_ about the past?! I’ve been through _much_ worse raising _you!_ Seriously D.W., it’s been _years!_ Just _grow the fuck up_ and _get over it already!“_ she spat back.

“Up _yours,_ you _fucking hag_!” Darlene roared. “How _dare_ you claim to get off _worse?!_ _You think I don't know and understand what you've been through?_ For _your_ information you clearly have **_NO IDEA_** what _I’ve_ been through! You never _understood_ my pain, or the gravity of what you _do!_ For years on end I've suffered _so_ much _godforsaken_ _torment_ from everyone for as long as i remember and you did nothing but just fan the _fucking_ _flame_ for me!”

“I never did _anyth_ -“

“Never did _anything?!_ You’ve done _everything_ to _guarantee_ I was miserable! I had to live in a family where I had to pay for everything _you_ did in the past that barely had a single thing to do with me! I’ve been bullied at school and whenever I told you about it you _barely_ did a single thing to help me! I’ve been locked away in closets and storage rooms for hours, I’ve been beaten and _starved_ to death for more than I can _count!_ I’ve been through nothing but hell and what did you do? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I _swear_ that this is the story of my **_fucking LIFE!_** _For fucks’ sake, just what the hell kind of mother ARE YOU?! **"**_

At that moment the older woman’s initial anger quickly reduced with shock as she took a good look in her daughter’s eyes-they actively glowed with viscerally feral, bloodthirsty ** _fury_.** At that moment Jane immediately realized that as soon as those words passed her lips she realized that she might’ve made a terrible mistake.

Jane found herself stunned into utter silence as soon as Darlene continued. Words used to counter against her later died in her throat the second Darlene had finished her yelling for a while.

"I can't _believe_ I actually _looked up_ to you, can't _believe_ I actually _loved_ you...I can't believe you...you-"

"-I can't believe that out of all the _goddamned_ women of this planet THEY HAD TO PICK _YOU_ TO BE _MY FUCKING_ **_MOTHER!”_**

Jane just simply fell silent for a while after that, where a few moments late she later began to speak up.

"D.W...." she breathed out almost imploringly.

**_‘YOU RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE! THAT WAS 30 AND A HALF DECADES OF MY LIFE I’LL NEVER EVER GET BACK BECAUSE OF YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!”_ **

At that moment the area just rang with eerie, almost sepulchral silence. For Jane it was a lot to take in on her part.

“D…D.W….” she whispered.

As she looked at her daughter she just helplessly shrunk in her seat as she noticed that Darlene was nothing but a storm of tumultuous emotions. Darlene trembled like a leaf; hands clenched where her long nails threatened to draw blood as tears flowed down her face.

Jane’s voice still remained silent as her face slowly paled “I…I…I’m-“

Darlene said nothing as she silently bit back a choked sob. Snatching her purse from her seat, she tearfully stalked off not wanting to face jane right now.

Jane made no intention or effort to call her back or to ever basically apologise for anything as she simply slumped in her seat, shoulders absently lowered as she silently began to mull over what just happened.

Jane tiredly pulled her limp hands into her pallid face, trying to wonder how things could get so wrong from there.

Her daughter had _changed_. The lack of decency she flaunted during the whole meeting was nothing short of jarring. The broken little girl she and her closest relatives consistently tortured for years was now a bitter woman who in her opinion had nothing but rage on her side and vindictiveness in the mind.

And it was all her fault. And right now she could barely ever do a single thing about it. No matter how hard she tried to do anything she could about it absolutely nothing could ever make her family go back the way it was ever again.

**_Unless-_ **

Jane pulled her hands away from her face as soon a particular person came into mind in the middle of drowning in her thoughts.

What better way to touch base with her _remaining key to salvation?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clear up any confusion d.w. calls Julian and Mia 'mumma and papa" while she refers Steg and Opal as "mum and dad/daddy". even though Steg is still her biological dad and Opal's her stepmother D.W. still considers Julian and Mia as her adoptive parents because she still loves them and doesn't want them to be convinced that she doesn't need them anymore now that she reunited with Steg so D.W. basically has two sets of parents here (excluding Jane and David considering that both parties mutually disowned each other ever since she left home)
> 
> so in this chapter after a 5 year timeskip D.W. is basically a Lisa Marie Presley/Riley Keough split expy (which makes sense here since Steg and Opal are based on Elvis and Priscilla, Julian and Mia are the TCB band/a slight touch of the Memphis Mafia), she's pretty ruthless to those who harmed her and the tirade she gave to Jane basically defines that.
> 
> Jane and D.W. have an absolutely massive argument, D.W. is furious that Jane is worming her way back into the life to do an afterthought about-face just to get what she wants out of d.w. to help repair the read family, and Jane is upset because D.W.'s not meeting her demands and can't get over herself over being stuck in the past.
> 
> the Read family is basically severed in every way there is as a result of karma for their actions of how they treated D.W. in the past; Jane is outed as the biggest shame of Delmarva and basically cant even be bothered to go anywhere, David died of cirrhosis originating from his constant frequenting of alcohol, Sofia's stuck in an abusive relationship with pretty much no way out, Savannah died in a freak car accident, Arthur is serving some time for attacking Francine stemming from a major argument, that's pretty much only to name the ones that are the most affected by their individual consequences.
> 
> D.W. has established issues. established issues that can't obviously be fixed with hugs and what's shown here probably cements that. i also feel that the rage Jane received from D.W. wasn't enough, however Jane will pretty much get far worse from those she hurt in the past in the receiving end further down the line 
> 
> More to come


	8. crime of passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ⚠TW FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
> 
> D.W. runs into an adversary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠FINAL TRIGGER WARNING FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

**_ At least 3 weeks ago _ **

_Over on the other side of delmarva, a shower of heavy rain emerged from a dark sky of clouds fell hardly over any dry area you could think of, mainly over the roof of an unflattering-looking apartment building._

_Water soundly ran from the faucet of a sink sounding through a washroom where before the sink and mirror stood a very dishelleved-looking young woman._

_Seemingly in a hurry, a rush of stinging pain one after another flared on sofia's most prominent bruises as she attempted to wash the mess of blood and light makeup away from her face with a hot washcloth. The white cloth was clearly worn and discoloured with blood and concealer that only did at least 80% of its job as she constantly kept wiping as much as she could._

_Pulling the washcloth away sofia slowly pulled her eyes up to her reflection, silently staring at herself for a while, surveying the bruises as she began to immerse herself in her thoughts._

**_*Maybe...maybe this is how D.W. felt.*_ ** _Sofia thought immediately, before pausing. With that anger began to set in place as soon as she remembered her._

**_*No. Don't even think about her- not for a second. You hate that bitch, remember? Mum clearly told you to hate her guts from the beginning and you need to stick with it. This is all D.W.'s fault that you here and nothing else.* _ **

_With that, sofia quickly clamped down on any thought of the familiar curly brunette that ran through her mind, focusing on the deep hatred and resentment she had of her instead._

_Sighing, sofia dejectedly turned off the faucet and just squeezed the rag disposing it of any leftover blood and water. After that, she just simply shut off the light that burnished the washroom with an eerily dim light._

_Pure rage flared in the pit of sofia's stomach, later spreading through her body and later engulfing her heart as her eyes blazed resentfully at what she saw before her._

_That should've been **her** up there. She remembered the opulent stylish new clothing, namely pink dresses with frills and bows in every nook and cranny there was and jewellery she'd dress in to attend the poshest gatherings and events her family was invited to back home._

_However those luxurious clothes turned into corsets and spiky leather jackets before her eyes, which was the farthest thing she wanted, and before she knew it all of that and the notoriety and luxury she thought she deserved just had to go to that **whiny little bitch.**_

_That **stupid slut** that Sofia was taught to hate along with the others since she was only younger, with her gorgeous crimson smile and untamable locks of curly hair in every strand. Sofia didn't care what circumstances it would be; she just wanted to stomp over where Darlene was located and just beat her until the skin of her knuckles wore off-just like what she and Arthur used to do back in Darlene's childhood._

_On the subject of “beating” sofia later found herself feeling tense as she remembered what her boyfriend used to do for the remainder of their whole struggle relationship. Every other night or day, more than half the days they'd been together he would come home after a night of heavy drinking to blindly unleash his full rage on sofia._

_At that moment sofia felt tears water at the corner of her eyes. especially as she remembered one particular sentence she screamed out to her boyfriend during a heated argument._

**_"All I have is this body! You can be my guest and SELL it!"_ **

**_"Who would want your body? Who'd actually waste their precious time with a worn-down slut like you?"_ **

_Sofia didn't want to admit to his horrible words but a side of her, preferably a much bigger knew that he was right. Not a single person wanted her around. Her connections with everyone in her life increasingly broke apart before her and she could never have a chance to make things right, not matter how hard she tried._

_Darlene was living a life sofia wanted to live since she was only younger, now the outcome of Sofia's life was the farthest thing from what she had only dreamed of; she sat alone helplessly rotting away in a filthy, insect-filled apartment with an abusive boyfriend, her bright future seemingly permanently destroyed beyond repair. Her father and sister, the two people who were in her life for as long as she could remember were both dead and Jane was more or less distraught and way more distant over the blight of sorrow bought onto the family._

_Sofia looked at the dim screen of the cheap flatscreen, watching the slightly smiling face of Darlene being escorted through the hall by Steg and the others with many cameras and paparazzi following them with nothing but hot tears of frustration. Her teeth shakily bared with indignation where small, broken gasps went through._

_Sofia just silently stood there with clenched teeth and a shaking body before immediately breaking down in tears as she sat down on a side of the bed, not caring about the amount of pain flaring on her busted lip where it eventually began to draw blood._

_Darlene was happy. Every single thing she, Savannah and Angie had desired and she was the last one standing to take it all. Except they were never there to have their hands on it; Savannah had gone and Angie was too busy being a spoilt brat to actually realise that her fantasy won't ever come true. However Darlene was absolutely happy with her new life of luxury and fortune._

_Definitely something that Sofia and the rest of the Reads hadn't been for a long time now that karma came to collect all of their debt._

**_ Present day _ **

Sofia didn't even have time to properly ready herself as a hand belonging to another woman gripped at her scalp where another grabbed her face forcing her to look at her. A side of sofia's face had throbbed with considerable pain, stemming from the slap an unidentified woman gave her a few seconds ago.

"You fucking _bitch_..." the woman snarled at her menacingly. Around her were at least three dangerous-looking men stood behind her, where one recorded the whole situation happening before him. "How _dare_ you?"

"Please-" Sofia wept aloud pitifully, desperately trying to resist out of the woman's grip as much as she could. "Please let me go-"

"Don't _give_ me that!" the woman threatened her voice hissing into sofia's ear. The look in her dark eyes that accentuated her darkened expression was horrifying, where the sinister aura she displayed in front of sofia promised a painful future to her. "What, you didn't _think_ i wouldn't know that you've been fucking around with my boyfriend again?!"

"Y-you don't understand!" Sofia stammered. "Please, i had _no_ ide-"

" _Shut. Up!_ " Teeth bared with intimidating rage the woman growled at her, tightening her grip. "Listen here and listen very good, _bitch_ -if I see you around him again, i'll promise you that i'll _bash_ your _fucking_ face in until you _puke_. I will gladly make sure you won't live to be _whatever the fuck_ your age is. I have people watching your every move as we speak now. If you fuck with _me_ again, i won't just _bleed you out,_ but i _will kill you_ -are we _clear?"_

“I-“

_“Got that?!”_

“Yes-“

Not wanting to hear a bloodless sofia's voice again the woman later roughly freed her out of her grip and to the hard ground, glowering upon a vulnerable and tearful sofia, who shook from head to toe completely as she sobbed quietly.

The woman later slowly retreated with the men, leaving sofia alone to hold onto her aching cheek. Letting out a hoarse sob, tears rapidly rolled down her face to mix with sweat that clung to her bangs that ran like bullets from the threat the woman gave her a few moments ago.

Sofia didn't know how long she lied on the ground before her eyes drew to a pair of black stilettos owned and worn by a curvy woman that stood aside from her with crossed arms. As she looked up with full attention she saw an apathetic-looking Darlene before her, her bundle of taupe curls blowing in the near-late afternoon wind.

Her outfit had screamed of the power she held over those around her now, and the power Sofia desired- it was a leathery black corset coinciding with a softer blood-red fabric, where down to her lower half was a black pencil skirt that hugged her wide curves where the hemline stopped to her knees.

Sofia originally didn't have a single clue of who this woman might be-but as she gave her a good once-over at her familiar-looking cherubic face before her, more noticeably the pouty, glossy crimson lips she almost _immediately_ felt her stomach plummet to her feet.

"You...." she whispered out almost horrified by her sudden appearance. Before then, rage had immediately set in motion inside of her as she looked at the almost smug-looking glint laced in Darlene's dark eyes.

Getting on her feet and wiping away any tears that remained, with crossed arms Sofia's icy-blue eyes resentfully followed the pearshaped woman up and down.

"Why are _you_ here?" Sofia asked, "I really thought being a prostitute was only a night job. Speaking of which D.W.- _how many corners have you worked on?_ Probably a bad question-I mean who would actually want to fuck with _you?_ "

Darlene however took no offence to that insult, only keeping the look she gave to her elder halfsister guarded, "Honestly-in terms of you, that's _my_ question. At the most, it looks like your client thought of you as a punching bag rather than just an escort- _if_ you know what I mean."

Sofia fumed at that, turning away from her with clenched fists. Darlene slowly walked around her, keeping that stoic look in her face as she observed sofia from head to toe.

"To be honest I really thought jane was only bullshitting for attention, but after watching that scene and looking at you-i guess it was really true all along?" she noted.

Sofia turned around, crossing her arms, knowing that Jane must’ve told Darlene everything she had to know. "Why believe her anyway?" she countered. "That stupid old hag was too _useless_ to do _anything_ to help."

"She stated earlier that your boyfriend hung up on her before she can do anything. But if your opinion on that was the case, then I guess i wouldn't really be surprised if she didn't help you out." Darlene pointed out.

Sofia looked away, remaining mute for a good few seconds before darting her eyes back to darlene, not wanting to admit that her halfsister was right.

"You don't know that."

Shrugging, Darlene deadpanned at Sofia's afterthought backpedalling, "She told me."

Without warning sofia immediately looked cross, centring herself before her. "Why do you care anyway? How i live my life isn't any of your _business_ , you _dirty bitch,_ " she barked. "Why don't you take a good look at _yourself_ first before coming after me? You're still a fat, ugly piece of _trash_. You’ll just be nothing but his _bastard_ _daughter_. I'm surprised this _disgusting_ cow town actually _wants_ something to do with _you_. _Emphasis_ on _cow_ by the way."

With a hand on her hip darlene just simply titled her head. "And you know what? I think i see what you mean." The self-disparaging comment fuelled sofia's ever-so self-righteous heart. "I may have a couple of pounds on me, and I may have a face that makes everyone want to puke-but my nature isn't as _godawful_ and _hideous_ as yours. Pot meets kettle, but you're about the _filthiest bitch i_ 've ever seen in my _life_. Not to brag, but _my people_ know that I'm _fresh and sparkling clean_ compared to the likes of _you_."

Sofia seethed with clenched fists, anger increasing as she watched her turn around and look at nothing in particular, "What, you think you can just _stand_ there and laugh at my _face_ because you rely on your _pwecious wittle Daddy Warbucks_ to help you out? Do you think that just because you're the daughter of that old washout means that you can be a total bitch to people-"

"Yeah-but do you think that because you're having your fair share of problems mean that you can just randomly act like a screeching harpy to those around you?”

Pure silence.

"Unlike you, I think i have a _good_ reason to be a bitch. At least I admit it. What about you? I don't remember you being a prize either. You act like it hurts your entire _will_ to admit to being a terrible person. I never committed the same sins you did so don't even act all moral and noble to let yourself think that you can be still worth _a fuck._ "

With a clenched jaw, after a few seconds sofia's mouth still chose to run after a while of nothing but deafening silence on her end, voice slightly trembling as she tried to find words to counter her statement, "You have _no_ right to say that to me, you _obviously_ don't know a single thing about me-"

Darlene shot up a hand for silence, briefly making sure Sofia took that order into account before continuing, "I think that after spending my whole life being surrounded by the many people who assisted in making my life a living hell, i'm pretty sure i'm entitled to talk _mad shit_ to one or at the very least _all_ of them," she was shouting now, ignoring the sight of Sofia gradually stepping back from her. 

"What's it to you...?" Actual tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as she began to speak up a little louder, enraged by Darlene's nerve. "Who even _needs_ your opinion? You have _everything_ and I have _nothing!_ I spent the _past few years_ stuck in a _trashy_ apartment where my own _boyfriend_ beats the crap out of me while you're living your so-called best life in a big mansion all untouched and shit through! Not a _single_ person knows how _unfair_ that is to me!"

Darlene just tilted her head to the side, only further enraging Sofia by her lack of decency. "Yeah, like i _give_ a shit. Let's be good and real here, I _really_ would've cared about what you're going through but after the limits you went through to make me miserable, I think i could definitely _care_ less. I already heard the story from Jane."

Sofia was immediately furious; pushing a clearly unfazed darlene back she snarled at her, hoping to intimidate her by cornering her just as she did when they were only teenagers back then. 

"D.W., you're such a _selfish, heartless little skank!_ " she roared. Darlene simply yet almost irritably wept the spittle from her face and stepped back at little as Sofia kept screaming. She just turned away with crossed arms, ignoring a now riled-up Sofia clearly fuming before her. "You're a total _bitch!_ I can definitely see why everyone always treats you like _crap!_ First you throw a massive _hissy fit_ and leave us all _high and dry_ and now you think because you're making it big means that that automatically makes you the _boss_ of everyone! Well _newsflash_ , a hideous, _useless slut_ like you has _no_ -"

The wrath magnifying in Darlene's stomach from earlier had manifested physically as Sofia's face snapped to the side, not even having a chance to blink or think for herself as Darlene slapped her. _Hard._

Sofia felt pure dread magnifying in her as darlene stepped forward forebodingly. As the two were nose to nose, sofia felt little as she felt the pleasant-but in this situation almost _acrid_ fragrance of expensive perfume and a generous amount of hairspray fill her nostrils as she felt darlene's scowl burn into her eyes.

"I was condemned by my whole family for being a bastard child so I spent my whole life under one roof being treated like the lowest of scum by any person I could ever think of," her voice was slow and decisively venomous with every word, "But besides all of that, that was just the _old_ me. The old "D.W.", the weak piece of _trash_ everyone _loved_ to use as an old, beaten-up punching bag. Now that I'm Darlene, I'm able to make anyone that's still in the family to pay a _heavy_ price for the deep scar all of your actions left in me.”

“Also-you think _I'm_ selfish and heartless? If so, i suggest that you should look in a fucking mirror more often past that _hideous_ mug of yours-because by definition someone who's so incredibly entitled, self-centred, and unreasonably vindictive shouldn't even _try_ to _flatter_ themselves with the stupid _shit_ that comes out of their mouth. I can be selfish, hell I can even be _manipulative_ at the most-you clearly ain’t seen _nothing_ come out of that yet, but don’t think that the way I act is _nothing_ compared to what _you_ did to _me_."

Withdrawing from sofia, who from the eye clearly shook like a leaf tumbling through heavy wind she carelessly slung the pleather/chain strap of her small purse over her shoulder with a slightly cocked hip.

Darlene dared to twist the knife further, giving her a haunting smile; it was just as thin and humourless to match her emotion of the situation where her eyes were laced with hatred and pure fury, and once sofia noticed it, all blood steadily and willingly drained from her aching face.

The sound of her voice still owned major virulence to it as she finally spoke after a few moments of silence.

“Going through your own hardships doesn’t make you entitled to needlessly take your anger out on others who aren’t in your life. You and the others got your just desserts in the few years i left and learning your own lesson from the weight of what you did still doesn't mean anything to _you_. Take some time out of your life to try to think about what you did and remember it instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Have a good day.”

Flipping her hair to the side the curly-haired brunette noiselessly strode away from her, hips swaying gently as she walked off, leaving Sofia alone and to her thoughts.

As she walked away with a cold feeling in her chest she chose to ignore the glass-shattering scream that resounded from the now _very_ distraught woman afterwards.

Because _**fuck her, that's why.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20,000+ words,this is the longest story i've written so far on this site (I have an unpublished story only at least many words shorter than this from late-2018 somewhere in my roster) and i'm actually kind of impressed to say the least. Also i finally got a new laptop just in time for the new semester, and grammarly's finally working for me again so that's a plus
> 
> this was originally going to coincide with the following chapter, but i decided to break it u since it was already long enough.
> 
> so we just established that it's true that since the timeskip everything is definitely not coming up roses for Sofia at all-she's being abused by her boyfriend, occasionally attacked/harassed by some girls who are also in relationships with him, and now that she reunited with D.W. she's basically very resentful and outraged that d.w.'s living her best life without a single thing to worry about. 
> 
> more to come


	9. rose coloured glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steg has some choice words with Jane when she sees him as her last resort, and jane actually realises how bad she fucked up as a mother.

Jane hadn't really acknowledged at first, but over time when she did she certainly didn't want to realise it-but trying to draw herself back into her former lover's life to come to a possible understanding with him just to get what she wanted out of him was _definitely_ going to blow up in her face. 

She found herself recoiling a bit when she immediately saw the _fuming_ aura steg emanated when she was escorted into the main hall by a couple of housemaids.

Nervously cupping her hands she tried to look up at him fully and clearly, "I come in peace?" she tried to speak. 

Steg looked _dangerously_ incensed, ever so intimidating with his dark eyes narrowed as he gave his former lover a harsh once over. 

" _Tch_. You got a lot of _balls_ and _nerve_ , showing your face here." 

From what jane could hear pure _venom_ dripped in his tone, just in the same way as darlene from that day. Jane only clamped down on any memories from that same day almost angrily as soon as she remembered every horrible word Darlene had said to her, and looked down, almost timidly as she cupped her hands together. Trying to find words, she slowly looked up to steg, trying to reason with him as much as she could manage.

"Steg, listen...you _really_ don't understand." she tried to explain, slowly shaking her head as she did.

Steg looked up from his crossed arms, narrowed eyes peering through the almost opaque lenses of his aviator glasses. " _How_ the _hell_ did you get through security?" he countered. 

Excusing herself from the shifty-eyed yet dutiful housemaids, jane silently stepped through the main hall, the heels of her velvet teal kitten heels clicking through every movement on the marble floor with a slightly lowered head, sighing before looking back to steg.

"Steg, listen…that isn't important right now..." she tried to speak. "I know things have been really tense but I really didn't come to start another fight. Please, I just need to speak with you. At the very least, just try to hear me out. That's all i'm asking from you right now."

Steg looked to the side angrily before shaking his head. 

" _Talk_."

Nodding gently, jane simply cupped her hands as she began to speak.

"Listen..." she proceeded to explain, "Over the past few years things have been absolutely _horrible_ for me lately...see, i just got out of going through a rough divorce, and my side of the family estranged themselves from me...and my immediate family isn't boding so well either. My ex-husband just died, my son's in jail, my second daughter was killed in an accident, my two youngest children are acting out, my other two just ran away from home...and my eldest daughter's being abused by her boyfriend."

Jane's eyes narrowed however as she remembered that day, the same day where darlene called her out.

"And if only _D.W._ had just helped me out then I'm sure that _none_ of this would've ever had to _happen_." she almost snarlingly continued, noticeable hatred in her slightly raised voice.

Jane shook her head and sighed, her hands moving over steg's gently wrapping it into his. Jane however couldn't find herself to focus as her attention was placed on steg's wedding ring. The pristine diamond that was encased into silver glimmered in the sunlight where jane felt her jaw clench with sheer resentment. 

"Steg..." she said, clearing her throat. "I just really _don't_ know what to do anymore. I know things haven't been...exactly the _best_ between us back then...but _you're_ my only hope. All i just need you to do for me is to help me and-" 

Jane didn't even have time to register the moment where steg immediately snatched his hand away from her grasp. Her thin eyebrows rose as she later rose her head to him, only to feel little as steg glowered at her, his dark eyes blazing almost _furiously_ -unnerving jane a little. 

" _No_."

Jane said nothing, eyes still widened as her shoulder slowly slumped over time. 

Shaking his head, steg closed his eyes, crossing his arms as he did. Dark eyes lowered peered through his glasses.

"After what you've been through and the fact that you've been lookin' out for darlene and I for some quick and easy guidance, especially _me_ after she didn't want a single thing to do with you- then i think i guess its safe to say that i'm not surprised."

"Steg, you’re sounding just like D.W. right now. Please don't be like this." jane pleaded. "Please, just _take_ this _seriously_."

"I _am_ takin' this _seriously_." Steg said sternly yet firmly, narrowed eyes guarded as he stared at his almost gaping ex-lover. "When you come back into my life and _expect_ me to overlook everything you've done in the past-do you think that makes things easy for you to get what you want out of me?"

Jane shrunk back at his words, as she felt provoked by his words her raised eyebrows later furrowed together as she found herself getting immediately getting incensed at him a well.

"What is your _problem?!_ I've done _nothing_ wrong!" she argued, immediately centring herself before him. "All I ever did was _ask_ D.W. for help and she had the _nerve_ to just blow me off! If only you didn't get me pregnant my family wouldn't have been _destroyed_ like this! What's the main issue here is D.W.'s _goddamned_ _attitude!_ You should blame _her_ for being selfish and then _yourself_ for constantly _spoiling_ that little _runt_ now that she's riding on your coattails! I don't know _why you're_ blaming _me_ when you have that fucking _useless brat_ yell at my _face_ the oth-" 

The cork had finally popped for steg at those words where fire emanated like a halo on the muscular man as there was a mask of sheer, _uncontrollable_ , intense **_fury_** on his face. He saw nothing but pure **_red_** in his wake. He knew it was uncharacteristic of him, but right now he wanted to do _so_ many _things_ to jane to make her take back what he said.

Steg was too blinded by it to see it but he was absolutely pissed. Not just moderately cross, but right now this was truly burning red-hot _fury_. Right now he _definitely_ couldn't find himself to ever remember the last time he was this _enraged_ with someone. Someone who didn't lie to his face-or at worst _deceived_ him and got away with it, which was one of the defining traits that would hurt his will. Someone who wasn't trying to hurt Opal or any of his dear friends and family who all were his pride and joy. Right now he since lost sight of keeping his cool, he really wanted to scream out _loud_ , to **_rage_**. He was aware just how wrong it is to ever hit a woman but now he just so _desperately_ wantedto punch Jane's lights out. 

Jane however sat through the moment of silence, mounting horror and dread filling her being every which way in the form of a paled face as she realised the severity of her words sunk in fast. 

After a second barely controlled _chaos_ erupted from the woman-jane quickly grabs steg's hand with the intent to do some major backpedalling out of her own major desperation, the woman exploding into a storm of tearful, frantic apologies alike- ** _Steg please, Steg I'm so sorry, Steg i swear I didn't mean it, Steg I actually love D.W. a whole lot, Steg I don't mean any of that about her, Steg please listen-_** dozens of shoddy, afterthought regrets/apologies constantly flitted through and through-but Steg however remained mute and unmoved. 

Throughout the tears that welled in her eyes as she noticed how she just basically destroyed her chances for some damage control, she kept begging and pleading.

Intense pain immediately exploded on the side of Jane's face as Steg's now aching hand went through it. As she looked away with shock, holding onto her cheek, she slowly yet shakily pointed her eyes to Steg.

_"Get out."_

Memories started to flood back in Jane's mind as she began to slowly recollect what happened 27 years ago.

"Steg, please, just let me-"

" ** _Enough_**. Get out of my _fuckin'_ house before I gladly _throw you out."_

"No-" jane almost wept. Trying to collect herself, as much as she could with only a broken resolve Jane desperately looked at him. " _Please, please_ forgive me-you're the only one who could help me. I was only worried that something _terrible_ happened to my daughter, and when i remembered what d.w. said that day i just got upset...that her not helping destroyed my chances of doing anything...please, i _beg_ of you...just _help_ me. Even if there's no more love-there's still some...some _past_ connection-right?"

Steg's fury only just intensified _tenfold_ at the sentence-it wasn't because of the excuse Jane made for herself, but moreover to her lack of _decency_. How she seemed to care about her own daughter, a girl he never even met instead of _his_ daughter, or how jane seemed to think _only_ of herself. 

"You may be worried about _your_ daughter, but when you waste _most_ of my child's life making her as miserable as she could be-do you even _think one bit_ of _our_ relationship? Do you ever consider and appreciate _everything_ i did for you?"

“Also, in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t need you anymore. I never did. I have a beautiful wife who I love very much now, and I don’t need you getting in the way of our love so you can just get the services you need from me. There was never any _‘past connection’_ between us and there never will be no matter how much you ever think about it.”

There was another moment of silence.

Shaking his head, steg simply removed his glasses giving a show of his narrowed eyes, before hanging them on the collar of his shirt. Straightening the lapels of his spiked leather jacket, he slowly yet gently held the bridge of his nose.

"Jane...let's start with this slow so I can just get it over with." 

With her ever so _shocking simpleminded_ resolve, jane slowly pushed any bangs the hung near her teary face and looked up. 

Surprisingly, steg chose to keep his temper held very well-despite the amount of rage he felt boiling at the pit of his stomach.

"Not to sound arrogant-but i was always a kind and carin' person. I have _never hated anyone_ in my whole life. And right now if I was still what i described myself a few seconds ago- if i _remembered and cherished_ the so-called _love_ we had for each other back then, i would've _gladly_ helped you out. But when i think about the _torment-the godforsaken **sufferin'**_ you put _my baby_ through-all because you resented her for gettin' in the way of your life-I think i'm definitely _entitled_ to _never_ help you in your time of need. I can _never_ find it in my heart to _forgive_ you, have _respect_ and _trust_ for you and for as long as i live."

Jane's mouth almost shakily opened and closed, only for the woman to barrel forward, trying to object to that as much as possible-but no sound came out as Steg wordlessly insisted to proceed.

"Quick question: do you know and understand just how _bad_ you fucked up?"

Jane looked like she wanted to slump her shoulders-but she still looked tense. She singlehandedly attempted to speak, intending to make more excuses down the line, "I know my style of parenting wasn't _natural_ or _right_...but I...i did my best to raise her _properly-_ " 

"But did you ever _raise_ her _lovingly?_ Do you know and understand what it means and how it feels to be a _mother?_ How do you _expect_ her to learn from right and wrong if you and your family _treated_ her the way you did? Regardless of your own nonexistent morality, and you might've considered this as revenge for _'ruinin' your life_ '."

Steg could see blood steadily draining from Jane's gradually paling face at that question.

"My gods-then i _think_ you don't know." the pure exhaustionand disgust in his voice were primarily outspoken with every word, later moderating to smooth yet ever-so _acidic_ sarcasm, "Who ever _thought_ that in order to level the playin' field in this situation as much as they can, the only right thing to do is to try to make their own _flesh_ and _blood_ feel like _shit_ as much as possible. Jane honey-methinks you just unlocked the answer to life, death and this big ol' universe alone."

Jane's face was now completely bloodless at this point, mouth gaping like a fish as she consistently tried to look for any words to say-but nothing could ever be willed to come out.

"The amount of shit you've done to put her through nonstop is _sick_ -because _really_ , just what did Darlene ever do to you to deserve somethin' like _that? Nothin'_ , absolutely _nothin'_. Where do I start? You allowed your husband and most of your own children, probably even your extended family to constantly _belittle_ her, at worst even lock her up in a _closet_ , _starve_ her, _beat her around_ until she almost _died_ -" tears immediately formed at the very corners of his eyes, his voice slightly cracking at that sentence as he tried to speak, "-and I'm ain't even _sure_ how long I could go on. You even told her many times that your life would be better off if she was _dead."_

Jane constantly shook her head, hand slowly rising to her temples as she tried to block out every sickening detail there was. 

"And from the _second_ my bandmates adopted her, from what they've _told_ me-she's _never_ had a proper night's sleep for almost _half a year,_ and has to rely on _sleepin' pills_ to help her which _still_ does no good. She's been havin' endless nightmares more than she could count, she also couldn't bother to actually _eat anythin'_ or get out of her room or the _house_ alone. She's been considerin' _suicide_ for as long as she can remember, she even had a mental _breakdown_. She smashed her own fist against a _fuckin' mirror_. She _passed out_ from losin' _so much blood_ and had to _get_ _stitches_. After hearin' everything from ‘em, I just sat there and spent my whole night _cryin'_ for _hours_ on end-I cried my eyes out until they were _dry_ you know. Havin' _known_ that you were basically the main _catalyst_ for my daughter's constant sufferin' and your family members were in on it too, and you didn't even care...you just went on about your life happily _assumin'_ that she must've _died_ walkin' the streets. It's just very hard for meto fathom to _hear_ that she had to _go_ through this the way she did. Jane, this is an _absolute fuckin' **horror**_. This is the _worst_ thing i have ever heard in my _fuckin' life_ , and i mean in my almost _60 years_ of _livin'_ on this _planet_. And not _once_ did i ever _hear_ you _apologise,_ let alone have _any_ respect _f_ or _anything;_ you only came back to ask me to help get your shit together, and when you did you have the gall to _condemn_ her for not wantin' to hear you constantly _mope and gripe_ and _bitch_ over and over againabout gettin' a dose of your own karma. I didn't even _hear_ you say you were sorry, and not _once_ throughout this whole conversation have you ever had the time to not make everything about yourself."

Nothing but completely uninterrupted silence filled the gap between them. Jane just sat there, choosing to break it by releasing a choked sob muffled by her shaking hand covering her lips, stunned into nothing but utter silence as she finally became shocked by her own cruelty.

"Yeah, right now I think it's _damn safe_ to guess that you just can't think of anythin' to say. I can _never_ understand how you can actually _live_ with yourself especially after reflectin' on what you've done. I don't _want_ her to help you. _I don't_ want to help you. I don't _ever_ want you back in either of our lives, no matter how hard you beg, no matter how hard you plead, no matter how much tears you cry. I won't _ever_ be here for you to listen to whatever excuses you have to make for yourself. I _especially refuse_ to put my own daughter through any more of your needless stress and _bullshit_ , especially without a _good. Fuckin'. Reason."_

"At first i thought you were just a completely harmless beauty, but as soon as i took your hand in our affair i was _wrong_ this whole time. You Jane Read, are the most _disgustin'_ person I have ever had the _mistake_ of allowin' you to come into my life. You're _not_ a good mother, you're just a callous _monster_ who's only concerned about lookin' good and clean in front of everyone and bein' liked every which way than _actin'_ like one. Your folks are practically rollin' in their graves at this point. I really hope you're proud that you've finally got your way."

Jane felt her legs give way as she just unexpectedly collapsed to her knees, proceeding to sob. The sobs weren’t quiet; they were out loud, full on blubbering morbidly resembling as if she just soundly watched someone she loved with all of her heart die right in front of her. 

Steg was _right_. This whole time every single word that came out of his mouth was _right_. Everything he and Darlene had said to her was absolutely _true_ -she turned her back on her own daughter for years and taught and allowed her own family to run over her.

She was far from a lousy mother-words couldn't even begin to describe how absolutely _inhumane_ she was. 

Shaking his head gently at the display before him, Steg rose his head to the plaintive Jane and as he could see a varying degree of **_actual guilt_** was on her wet face. Fat tears streamed down her face as jane soundly continued to cry her eyes out.

"Steg....i'm so sorry...i…you’re right….I’m an absolutely horrible mother…I…I-“

"Oh- _what?_ You're _sorry now?_ " he guessed for her. "Sorry you did it or sorry you've been _called out for it?_ While we're on the subject I believe that one little apology isn't goin' to fix a single thing, or just about anythin' related to this at all. I do know however that you definitely _can't_ spruce up an open wound with just one little bandaid."

Jane barely said a thing after that; she just kept crying, too enwrapped in self-loathing and guilt to find a good answer to that armour-piercing question. What she didn’t notice however is that a particular housemaid eavesdropping on the conversation smirked at her with another, where two other housemaids whispered to each other as they watched the situation before them.

"Don't start cryin' now.' Steg recommended. "I _definitely_ don't remember you cryin' when you did what you did-so you might as well not start now." He later pointed his arm to the doors, "Now that that's out of the way, i think it's time for you to leave. Never see me again, because as far as I’m concerned I definitely won’t answer."

Jane immediately dared to chose the opportunity to become defiant. She tried to reach for steg’s hand, only for him to turn around. Feeling as if now she lost her chances to repair her family, Jane felt helpless now as she just bit back another sob.

It was only a second before the ever so impatient steg finally took some action-shaking his head, he dug his hand in his pocket to pull out his two-way radio.

And with that, it was clear that Jane could barely even notice what he said on the other line through the deafening ringing in her ears, mixed with the sounds of nearby police sirens resonating from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or the one where Jane gets the dressing-down of a life time
> 
> Writing steg with southern dialect is actually super easy?? I grew up around relatives who speak with it a lot so this was pretty much in the bag for me
> 
> More to come, fair warning that chapter 10 and other forthcoming chapters might take some time to be released


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